Decisions

by SpectrumDash

This is my first story on FF so please be kind in the reviews! Rainbow Dash was always a lone ranger, obsessed with speed. Sonic was the same. But what happens when these two speed demons collide? Rainbow will have to decide between Sonic and a life of luxury, or her friends and the life she loves? Join them on their massive adventure, with drama around every corner. SpectrumDash!

{Songs} /thoughts\

Five friends were walking down the road to call for their friend who lived in the city of Cloudsdale. Getting to the city was a bit of a struggle, but they didn't have to worry about that because they saw their friend walking the other way. The friends were all normal people: a farmer, a librarian, an organiser, a dress maker, a vet and a weathergirl. But there was only one difference: they were ponies.

Twilight Sparkle was a young unicorn from the capital city of Equestria, Canterlot. She was sent to Ponyville by her mentor Celestia to study the Magic of Friendship. Her five friends were Pinkie Pie and Applejack, two Earth ponies, Rarity, another unicorn, and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, two Pegasus ponies. But something wasn't right today. Rainbow Dash, the bravest and fastest pony in Ponyville, looked... nervous?

"Rainbow, is everything alright? You look stressed."
"Y-yeah. Ev-everything is fine" It was then Twilight spotted the saddle bag.
"Are you going somewhere? You're saddle bag looks heavy. Do you want any help carrying it? I could use magic if you want."
"N-no thanks. I can manage."
"Are you at least going to tell us where you are going?"
Rainbow sighed. She knew she couldn't stay quiet about it forever.
"I'm leaving."
"Leaving? Where are you leaving for? Will you be long?"
"You could say that. I mean I'm leaving Ponyville. I'm leaving Cloudsdale. I'm leaving Equestria. I'm leaving, forever."

"WHAT?!" cried all of her friends.
"I've met someone. He is probably the only person who could ever keep up with me. We've been dating for about a year. He's asked me to marry him and I said yes."
"Rainbow, why didn't you tell us about him sooner?"
"I was afraid you wouldn't accept him. He's not like us."
"What's his name?"
"Prince Ogliville Maurice Takeshi Hedgehog. But he prefers being called Sonic the Hedgehog. Don't think this is goodbye just yet. Sonic and I have agreed to have our wedding in Cloudsdale. Pinkie, I want you to organise the reception. And tell Mr. and Mrs. Cake that they can make the cake. Rarity, you're on dresses. I want all of you as my bridesmaids and I want us all to look spectacular. Applejack, you and your family are in charge of catering. And tell Applebloom that the Cutie Mark Crusaders can be the flower girls. Fluttershy, you can pick the flowers yourself. And Twilight, you can be my best mare. Spike can be the ring holder. And Princess Celestia is in with the chance of doing the ceremony. The only other candidate is Sonic's mother, Queen Aleena."
"When is the wedding?"
"The day after tomorrow."
"What about music?"
"Sonic has that covered. He is in a band called Sonic Underground with his brother and sister. His sister, Sonia, is the organist. The band will play at the reception."
"What about Sonic's friends? What are they doing?"
"I'll introduce you to them when they arrive at the church. Tails is Sonic's best man. Rouge helped us organise the whole event. Cream and Cosmo will be the fourth and fifth flower girls. Knuckles used his skills as a treasure hunter to find jewels for the decor. Shadow is one of the guards. And we talked to Shining Armour, and he agreed to send one of his units to work with Shadow, which he will supervise himself. But enough talking, we've got a royal wedding to put together. In two days time, I will be Princess Rainbow Dash Hedgehog. Sonic is next in line for the throne, so I will eventually be QUEEN Rainbow Dash!"
"Right," said Twilight, "you heard the pony. Let's get to work."

Sonic was out for a run, as always, when he heard a very angry sounding shriek. "SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" Sonic sighed. Amy. She was a girl who was obsessed with him and he knew she wouldn't be happy when he told her about Rainbow. He turned around and stopped, with a face that could make a rock crack. Amy had never seen Sonic like this before, but she knew that Sonic would never stop unless it was important. She ran towards him. "Sonic, is everything OK?"
"Yeah, Amy, everything is OK but I have something to tell you, and I know you aren't going to like it."
"What?"
"I'm getting married in two days."
Amy didn't say anything, but she didn't need to. Her face said it all. She summoned her giant Piko Piko hammer. Her face wasn't happy. Not happy at all. Amy felt a surge of power and noticed that her fur was darkening. She had never been so angry in all her life. Dark Super Amy had been unleashed. At this, Sonic did the thing he did best. Run.

Twilight cast a spell on Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie and herself allowing them to walk on clouds. Then they hurried along to the church. Rainbow and Fluttershy were already there as only pegasi could walk on clouds naturally. Mr. and Mrs. Cake had stayed in Ponyville because of their two foals. They would all come up to Cloudsdale with the Cutie Mark Crusaders in Twilight's hot air balloon, because Twilight had used her unicorn magic to teleport the four non-pegasi friends. Shadow would use his Chaos Control to teleport all of Sonic's guests. She would cast the walking on clouds spell on the others when they got there. But for now they had to prepare for Rainbow's big day.

Amy wasn't giving up her chase. She was determined to pound Sonic to a pulp for getting married not to her. Sonic had had enough, so he called a friend.

*Ring Ring*
"Hello?"
"Dashie, it's me Sonic! I kinda need your help down here."
"What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
"I will be if you don't hurry!"
"Don't tell me. It's another Amy problem."
"Yep!"
"Be there soon. Love you, Sonikku."
"You too, Dashie. I'm running towards Equestria, but I'm still like 1000 miles away from the border. I should be there in just over an hour."
"Bye, I'm on my way"
*Call Ended*
"Sorry girls, but I've gotta go. Be back in about an hour and a half."
"OK, Rainbow. See you later!"

She galloped out of the church as fast as she could and did her signature Sonic Rainboom to get to the Mobius/Equestria border faster. Eventually she spotted two streaks: a blue one and, right beside it, a black one. She already knew that the blue streak was Sonic and she assumed that the black streak was Amy, even though Sonic had told her she was pink. She slowed down and flew closer to the ground. She could now see clearly that it was Sonic and she was also sure that Sonic could see her too, as he was beginning to slow down, but the black streak wasn't, and Amy almost instantly had pinned Sonic to the ground and was about to strike Sonic with a massive hammer! But before the hammer could hit, Rainbow had arrived. Amy wasn't happy that someone had interrupted her. "Who on earth are you?"
"I am Rainbow Dash. And you are?"
"Amy Rose. But tell me, Rainbow Dash, why are you interrupting me beating Sonic to a pulp?"
"Because I don't really want my fiancé to be beaten to a pulp."
"Wait you're marrying Sonic?"
"Yep."
"YOU'RE MARRYING MY SONIC?!"
"He's not YOUR Sonic, he's mine and you'd better not harm a quill on his head or you will know what this Pegasus pony can do!"
"If you want to save him, either cancel the wedding or fight me for him!"
"Bring it!"

The two females weren't smiling. The only thing they had in common was they both like Sonic. Other than that, they were completely different opponents. Dark Super Amy had her hammer and all her dark powers like Chaos Spear and Chaos Blast. Rainbow Dash had the power to control the weather and she had speed. Her Sonic Rainboom shockwave was powerful to destroy Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack's family's farm. She even had the power of flight as well. Victory for Rainbow Dash was going to be easy, or so she thought.

Amy made the first move, creating an energy sphere on her hand and launching it at Rainbow, but Rainbow had already dodged the attack. Amy continued her barrage of energy spheres and, every time, Rainbow dodged them. Amy threw her hammer at the Pegasus but the pony was faster and she grabbed the spinning hammer, preventing Amy from getting it back. "Ha! I've got your hammer up here now! What's next? How are you going to hit me without a hammer?"
Amy made an even bigger hammer materialise in her hand. Rainbow could only utter one word.

"Ah."

Rainbow Dash flew up with Amy's hammer and she collected a cloud. Amy laughed at how the pony thought she could harm her with a cloud. That was of course before Rainbow sent down a lightning cage that surrounded Amy for a split second but that was enough to give Amy the willies. Then it started to rain. Amy was getting drenched. She thought that was strange because the sky was clear a moment ago. She looked up and saw that the rain cloud was only above her, not Sonic or that stupid homewrecker Pegasus. But the Pegasus was the one who brought the rain. So, she threw her hammer up and hit Rainbow's wing with almost enough strength to break it. Thankfully not enough, but the impact was strong enough to knock Rainbow out of the sky, landing on her stomach with a sprained wing. "OK, lady! No need to go soaking my dress!" Amy shouted as she set down her hammer and turned back to her normal pink colour. "No need to go spraining my wing, either!" With nobody left to control it, the rain stopped and the cloud vanished immediately. Rainbow stood up opposite Amy. "Like I said, you'll know what this Pegasus pony can do. So, you are Amy. Sonic talks about you all the time, saying how you won't leave him alone. Ever!"
"And you must be the girlfriend Sonic has always told me about when I asked him on dates. I thought you were made up. So where's the wedding? Am I invited?"
"Dunno. I'll have to talk about it with Sonic."
Dash turned to her fiancé. "Should we invite Amy?"
"Yeah, even though she can be REALLY annoying, she's still my friend, and all my friends deserve to come to my wedding."
"OK." She turned back to Amy. "Yes, of course you're invited. It is in the city of Cloudsdale, day after tomorrow, 1:00pm."
"Where's Cloudsdale?"
"No need to worry, Ames." said Sonic. "Tails knows where it is. He's my best man! He can take you in the Tornado."
"Wait, how long has Tails known?"
"Since I started dating Dashie. He's like my little bro, why wouldn't I tell him. I told him to tell everyone. He must have forgotten to tell you. I thought you knew."
"Well, I didn't! Wait until I give Tails a piece of my mind!"
"After the wedding please. If you threaten him, he may decide not to take you at all."
"Oh... And I am so sorry for spraining your wing, Rainbow Dash."
"It's fine. See you there."

By the time Rainbow and Sonic had reached the land below Cloudsdale, Tails had already arrived in his plane. He gave them a lift up to Cloudsdale, where Twilight was waiting. She cast her spell and led them to the church.

The next day, Sonic and Dash were back at their own homes. They were busy getting their outfits ready. Rainbow was at Rarity's boutique. Rarity was the most well known designer in Ponyville. She was the best. She had an artist's eye and she used her unicorn magic to create the dress, so they were always perfect. Meanwhile, Sonic was busy looking for his best blue tuxedo. He had always worn his blue tuxedo when going to formal events, and nothing was more formal than your own royal wedding. After he had found it, he called one of his fiancée's friends.

*Ring Ring*
"Hello?"
"Hey! Twilight, wasn't it?"
"Yep."
"It's Sonic. I'm just calling you to tell you that Mum has agreed to host the wedding, so you don't need to ask Princess Celestia. But do tell her that she can come along too."
"OK, Sonic. Thanks for telling me."
"Bye, Twilight. See you tomorrow!"
"Yeah! Bye, Sonic."
*Call Ended*
"Spike, take a note please. Dear Princess Celestia..."

That night, not known by the other, both halves of the soon-to-be married couple had the same dream. But it wasn't really a dream. It was a memory. A memory of how they first met.

[Flashback]
Rainbow Dash was out for a walk, for once, near the border separating Equestria and Mobius, when she got knocked down.
She looked up and saw a blue hedgehog holding his gloved hand out to help her up. He spoke. "Sorry about that. I was out for a run around Mobius and I wasn't really looking where I was going. Name's Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."
"You must have a lot of stamina to do a non-stop run around Mobius. It's a big country."
"And a lot of speed. One lap of Mobius is a fifteen minute jog for me. They don't call me Sonic for nothing. I can break the sound barrier by running. I've raced against rocket cars and won. People call me the fastest thing alive."
"I thought that honour went to me. I'm Rainbow Dash. I've broken the sound barrier using my wings, not my feet."
"Wow! I thought I was the only living thing who could do that. I used to know a girl called Mina Mongoose. She was the only person who could even come close to keeping up with me. I had thought about asking her out, until I found out she already had a boyfriend. And, I must say, she was nowhere near as beautiful as you, Rainbow Dash."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Nopony has ever called me beautiful before!"
"Well, they must be blind. Tell me, Rainbow Dash, do you know where Mobotropolis, the capital of Mobius, is?"
"Yeah like 125 miles away from the north border."
"Meet me at the edge of the city later, say 6:00-ish. I know the greatest restaurant in town, and we don't even have to pay. Because I am the prince and the hero of Mobius, I can eat anywhere for free, and so can anyone I'm dining with."
"I would be honoured, Prince Sonic!"

At 6:00, Rainbow arrived at Mobotropolis and, true to his word, there was Sonic. "You made it!"
They walked through town to the restaurant. "Hey, Ella!"
"Oh, Prince Sonic! What can I do for you? A table for 2?"
"Yeah, and could it be a private booth?"
"Sure thing, your highness. Right this way."
Ella led them to their booth. "Now, would you like anything to drink?"
"May I have a glass of pure orange juice, please? Smooth, if you've got it."
"Got it. And for the lady?"
"Could I please have some still mineral water?"
"Right, so that's one smooth pure orange juice and one still mineral water. OK. I'll be back soon to take your order."
"Thanks, Ella." So, Ella left Sonic and Rainbow alone. Rainbow started making friendly conversation. "So, Sonic, is blue your natural colour?"
"No, I used to be brown and much less aerodynamic. But then, a great scientist Overlander named Dr. Ovi Kintobor made me a pair of anti-friction sneakers which increased my speed. I used to only be able to run to 733mph. The doctor's shoes increased my speed by 35mph, allowing me to travel at 768mph, the speed of sound. But after running faster than the speed of sound for my first time, my spikes merged together and my brown fur turned blue, caused by the "cobalt effect"."
"Wow. What a story! The most exciting things that have happened to me are a couple of Sonic Rainbooms and defeating Nightmare Moon and Discord with my friends."

"What're Nightmare Moon and Discord?"

"Not 'what?', 'who?'. Nightmare Moon was a princess back in the early days of Equestria. She controlled the moon and the night but she soon became jealous of her sister, Celestia, who controlled the sun. While the ponies played during the day, they slept and ignored her beautiful night, so she vowed to shroud the world in eternal night, so Celestia banished her to the moon. 1000 years on, she escaped to resume her plans. She kidnapped Celestia and hid her away, and she finally succeeded in her dreams of eternal darkness. That was when my friend, Twilight Sparkle showed up. She is Celestia's student, and a very powerful unicorn. She knew all about Nightmare Moon's return and she was the mare who formulated the entire plan to bring her down. She realised that each of us and our other four friends, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, each represented an Element of Harmony. I'm Loyalty. The six elements are Pinkie's Laughter, Applejack's Honesty, Rarity's Generousity, Fluttershy's Kindness, mine and Twilight's Magic. They came together and defeated Nightmare, returning her to her original form, the young Princess Luna."
"Yeah, I remember that! Not even my buddy Tails could figure out why the moon had stopped and he's like a genius. He's only eight and he knows more about technology than I ever will! What about Discord? Who's that?"

"Discord is the spirit of disharmony. He created chaos a while back. For instance, he turned our dirt roads into soap, made cotton candy clouds that rained chocolate milk and, worst of all, he turned my friends and I against each other. He hypnotised us, turning us into the exact opposite of our elements: Rarity was greedy, Pinkie hated laughter, Fluttershy was cruel, Applejack started lying and I became disloyal. The only one initially unaffected was Twi, but she only took a little longer. But, Twilight remembered all the letters she had sent to the Princess about friendship, and she was restored to the way she should be. She used a memory spell on the rest of us and we all returned to normal, as well, and we defeated him with the Elements."

"I remember that, too. I was in a band with my siblings at the time. Ever heard of Sonic Underground? That was us! Anyway, I was picking up the van when the world started tearing itself apart. Everywhere I looked, it was chaos. I-I almost lost my sister that day…"

"No! What happened?"

"My brother and my sister were waiting for me to bring the van with our friend, Knuckles, when the ground split in two. My sister, Sonia, lost her balance and fell into the chasm. She was trapped on a ledge halfway down. She couldn't go up, because there were no footholds. She couldn't go down, because she'd have drowned in lava. She couldn't jump across because the gap was too wide. If that wasn't enough, the crack started closing up again. If it wasn't for Knuckles' burrowing ability, she would have been crushed."

"Wow. Everything seems to happen to you. Things have calmed down since we defeated Discord. Nothing exciting has happened recently.

"Apart from the fact that you are on a date with a prince who wants to be your boyfriend."
"Really? You want to be my boyfriend?"
"Why wouldn't I? You're fast, you're beautiful, you have the nicest laugh and you're the nicest person I've ever met. I'd be more than honoured to call you my girlfriend."
Ella returned with the drinks and took the orders. Sonic ordered five dozen chilli dogs with extra chilli and Rainbow Dash ordered the veggie casserole. They continued the date, talking about Rainbow's cutie mark and Sonic's undying love of chilli dogs. They talked and laughed and they were soon ready to leave. They said goodbye to Ella and walked out of the restaurant. They continued to talk until they reached the edge of the city. "Well, Rainbow, this has been extremely fun, but it isn't over yet. I would like to walk, run or race you home."
"Let's run. We can race another time."
"OK, Rainbow Dash. Let's do it."
Sonic and Rainbow took off at almost full speed with Rainbow leading the way to Cloudsdale. The two streaks ran through the countryside and the cities, until they finally reached the land beneath Cloudsdale.
"Well, this is it."
"Wait, I thought Cloudsdale was a city, not a tree."
"It is, silly!" laughed Rainbow, pointing upwards.
"How are we going to get up there?"
"I could carry you."
"Be warned. I'm heavier than look. Wait I have an idea." Sonic took out seven different coloured gemstones. Rainbow was curious. "What are they?"
"These are called Chaos Emeralds. They are a source of endless power. The outcome depends on the user. People whose hearts are filled with anger, hatred or evil bring devastation, but people who's hearts are pure and good bring great strength. Good will always triumph over evil. Hope and friendship will overcome the greatest foes."
"Wow. I'm assuming that you're heart is one of the pure ones."
"Yes. I am one of the few beings on Earth who can harness their true power, yet not everyone knows if they can or can't harness or control them. You want to see if you are pure enough?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, come on!"
Rainbow joined Sonic in the ring of emeralds, which started to glow. Soon they rose into the air, with Sonic and Rainbow. Suddenly, the night was blessed with an enormous golden glow. Super Sonic floated up in the air. Rainbow Dash was surprised. She didn't expect anything to happen. But it did. She was also glowing gold, with her rainbow mane and tail glowing more vibrantly than usual. She had discovered her super form. But now all she had to do was come up with a name for it. "Sonic, what should I call my super form?"
"Dunno. Rainbow Flash, Super Dash, Super Rainbow, Golden Dash, Rainbow Gold, anything."
"I like the sound of Golden Dash. Or how about Golden Rainbow."
"Golden Rainbow it is. It suits you. You are Rainbow, and you're heart is pure gold!"
"You are the most charming person I've ever met."
"And you are the funniest, prettiest, fastest and nicest person I have ever met. Come on." Sonic then launched himself straight up into the air. Rainbow followed him, faster than she had ever flown before without Sonic Rainbooming. She finally caught up with him. "That's what the Chaos Emeralds feel like." Then she noticed that Cloudsdale was below her. "Hey, shouldn't we go down?"
Sonic said nothing. He just took her by the hand and continued flying up. Finally, she saw what Sonic was doing and flew up with him. Soon, they were silhouetted against the Moon. They stared deep in to each others eyes. Then they realised that their heads were tilting towards each other. It was then, they saw fireworks as their lips connected for the first time. They felt a surge of power flowing through their body, and both bodies started glowing brighter. It felt as if the past and future disappeared and all that was left was this moment. Time seemed to stop. Birds stopped tweeting. Wind stopped blowing. The 10 seconds of the kiss felt like an eternity. All that mattered was the other. All that mattered were the lovers, in the sky, sharing a kiss, in front of the Moon.
[End Flashback]

The big day came. Everything was ready. The cake was almost as tall as Sonic himself! The reception had been arranged. All the guests were seated and, there, standing at the altar was Sonic, in his blue tuxedo, and Tails, in his black one. "Be cool, man. Don't mess it up!"

"Way past, bud!" Sonic looked at his extremely accurate watch, which even showed him seconds. 12:59:34. 26 seconds until he saw Rainbow again. 25, 24, 23...5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Sonia started playing, note perfectly, of course. Every head in the church turned towards the door. Sonic actually had to hold his jaw to stop it hitting the floor! There, with all her bridesmaids, stood Rainbow Dash. She was in a beautiful dress, which was a surprise in itself! This dress was white and had a rainbow hem. The train was long and rainbow coloured, with a golden rim. Rarity had also added Rainbow's cutie mark to the front, made out of diamonds, rubies, sapphires and yellow topazes. And to top it all off, there was a pure gold tiara atop her head. She already looked like a princess. Eventually, she was standing beside her groom. Queen Aleena started the ceremony. "We are gathered here today...I now pronounce you man and wife." They shared their first kiss as a married couple. Pinkie suddenly piped up. "Alright! Let's go to the reception. I know it's going to be BRILLIANT!" She skipped out of the church. When Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy had joined her, Twilight teleported them back to the ground. Shadow did the same for the rest of the guests and Twilight's hot air balloon. Soon the only people left were Sonic and Rainbow, the light glinting off the Chaos Emeralds on their rings. Sonic had the dark blue Chaos Emerald on his ring and Rainbow's was the bright blue one. Sonic and Rainbow had made an arrangement with Knuckles, giving them custody of those two Chaos Emeralds. "Hey, Sonic. I'll give you a ride down to Pinkie's reception, or you'll be late for your performance."
"Wow, that's right! But you don't need to give me a ride. Tails got teleported away with the other guests, so that means his plane is still here!" He sprinted out of the church and, as he had said, there was the Tornado. Rainbow looked astonished. "You can fly a plane?"
"Yeah, especially considering that this is actually my plane, but Tails uses it more, because he's a better pilot."
Sonic hopped in and started the plane. It spluttered into life. Twilight had cast the cloud spell on the plane as well so it didn't fall through the clouds. Sonic flew it down towards Ponyville and Rainbow Dash flew alongside him.

They landed. The reception was held at Sweet Apple Acres, not Pinkie's usual party place, Sugarcube Corner, but this also wasn't a usual party. It was set up in one of the empty fields on the farm. It wasn't empty today. There were catering tables everywhere. Ponies and Mobians sat on picnic rugs. And, in the middle of it all, there was a bandstand for Sonic's band to perform. As Sonic and Rainbow entered, all the guests stopped what they were doing and turned towards the married couple. Sonia and Manic ran up to their bro and congratulated him on "getting hitched", as Manic put it. So did Tails, Amy, Rouge and every other Mobian attending, even Shadow. All the Ponies did the same for Rainbow Dash. Sonic Underground then took their place on the bandstand and touched their medallions. "This song is dedicated to the love of my life, Rainbow Dash! It's called, surprise surprise, "Love of my life."

{When I was upset
And feelin' bluuuuue
All I had to do
Was look at youuuu

You and I
we are the same
We both like speed
And speed's our game

You are the love
I've been missing
Yours are the lips
I love kissing
You are my girl
My newfound wife
I love you, Rainbow
Love of my life.}

The song carried on for a few more minutes. At the end, everyone, even Shadow, cheered and cried like crazy. Rainbow walked up to her husband. "That was beautiful, honey."
"So are you." replied Sonic, "so are you."

Half way through the party, Sonic disappeared to make a quick phone call.
"-so how quick can you be here?"
"In five minutes."
"Good. I will meet you in the south field."
"Got you. We'll be there."
*Call ended*
Sonic went over to the south field to meet with the people he was on the phone with.

"Hi. Are you Sonic?"
"Yeah. I am. And are you the entertainment I hired?"
"We sure are. What would you like us to do?"
"What you do best. And also, could you give Rainbow Dash a chance to audition?"
"Wait, you're Rainbow's husband?"
"Yep. Why?"
"She saved our lives a while back. Of course we'll do it!"
"Brilliant! Wait here until I say 'this has been a wonderful day'. Got it?"
"Yeah. Don't take too long."

Sonic returned to the party and acted as if nothing special was happening. He mingled with the crowd, talking to old friends and making new ones, until it was finally time to end. Sonic was just about to finish his speech. "...and I just wanna say that this has been a wonderful day." Suddenly everyone was knocked off their feet or hooves by a loud whoosh. Sonic was still speaking. "And what would Rainbow Dash's wedding day be without a performance by The Wonderbolts!" Every pair of eyes looked to the sky and "oohs" and "ahhs" escaped their mouths as the Wonderbolts performed aerial stunts beyond belief. Rainbow ran over to Sonic and embraced him so hard that he couldn't breathe. Spitfire, the captain of the Wonderbolts broke off from the group and flew down to Rainbow and Sonic. "Hey, Rainbow! I almost forgot! You remember how you went to the Wonderbolt Academy a while back? Well, I marked your final exam and congratulations, you got a perfect score! Welcome aboard! You are our newest Wonderbolt, permanently!" Spitfire reached into her saddle bag which she had left on the ground and pulled out a Wonderbolt uniform. Rainbow Dash stood silently for a second, until, "Ohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh! Yes!" Rainbow got dressed so quickly even Sonic couldn't keep up! Once she was ready, she took off slowly with Spitfire. She followed the Wonderbolts perfectly, until the end when Spitfire came over and gave her permission to do her signature move, the legendary Sonic Rainboom! The Wonderbolts formed a circle around Rainbow as she flew up. Eventually they broke off one by one, creating a spiral in Rainbow's wake. She stopped just below the inner layer of the atmosphere. She launched herself downward, instantly accelerating to near Mach 5 speeds. There was a faint Mach cone forming around her, but as her speed increased, so did the air resistance, making it harder. The cone became more pronounced, but by this stage, Rainbow felt as though she was flying through Applejack's Zapapple Jam! Finally, she broke the sound barrier, with the giant rainbow ring forming behind her. The ponies all cheered and whinnied, but the Mobians were shocked. The only living thing they had ever seen break the sound barrier before was Sonic. Never, in a million years, would they have expected him to find competition, let alone marry her! They all cheered along. Then DJ P0N3, known by her friends as Vinyl Scratch approached and turned on the music. The party carried on long into the night, so long in fact, that Princess Luna came along, the only princess unable to attend the ceremony, and joined the festivities. Eventually, all the Mobians except Tails, Sonia, Manic, Amy and Sally had gone home, as had all the ponies except the Mane 6, Shining Armour, Twilights BBBFF (Big Brother Best Friend Forever) and his wife and Twilight's old foalsitter, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Cadance for short. Tails was talking to Sonic.
"Wow, Sonic! You told me she was fast but...not THAT fast! Holy smokes! I wish I could fly that fast on my own!"
At the same time, Cadence was talking to Rainbow.
"The love between you two is strong. I was worried I might have needed to use one of my love spells if something went wrong! You're perfect for each other!"
"Aw, thanks, Cadence, that means a lot coming from you!" At that exact moment, suddenly, Rainbow Dash and Sonic both yawned together. Everyone laughed, then Cadence whispered to Rainbow, "See what I mean?" Rainbow couldn't help but giggle. "Well, I had better be going. The Crystal Kingdom isn't going to protect itself! Come on, Shining!"
"OK, Cadence! Bye, Twili! See you all soon!" The two ponies walked into the darkness, leaving just the Mane 6 and the Mobians. Amy and Pinkie both asked simultaneously, "WHERE IS THE HONEYMOON?"
"Calm down, girls!" This was Sonic. "Rainbow and I have decided to tour Equestria and Mobius, showing each other all the important places. We will come and visit each of you some time during the month. And, don't worry, Tails, you can keep your plane."
"But, it's your plane!"
"Not anymore! I've decided to give it to you. Think of it is a generous gift. I have one for all of you. Amy, I have you a new dress, 'cause I know how much you love new clothes. Sonia, I have gotten you a new motorcycle, pink, of course. Manic, you get a pair of new drumsticks from me. Sally, I have something important for you." He handed Sally a plain wooden box, about the same size as a small book. She was curious. "What is it?"
"The key to stopping Eggman. It is a computer virus that destroys all non-living things in a ten mile radius. Don't open it! It also kills the first person who opens it. Make sure that person is Egghead."
"OK, Sonic."
"Alright, ponies, I don't know what you like, so I got you each a gift based off your personalities. Twilight, I got you a book explaining everything about Mobius. Rarity, I heard about this gem before but I'd never found a shop in Mobius that sold them, so I bought it here. I hope you like Fire Rubies." Sonic sped off and came back pushing an entire wheelbarrow of Fire Rubies, and in the middle was the rarest Equestrian gem of all, the Unicornian Ice Sapphire. Discovered long before the founding of Equestria, the unicorns discovered this giant gem in a cave near the castle. Only two were ever discovered. One is safely locked away in Canterlot, the other was lost in the district of Saddle Arabia over 500 years ago, but, obviously, Sonic had found it. "Pinkie, I have for you a recipe for a cake, which is said to be the nicest cake in Mobius. I hope it does as well here. Applejack, I have money for you. Rainbow told me the story of the gala and how you wanted to go to make money for Sweet Apple Acres. I also heard that you didn't sell much. Well, tell me how much you'll need and I'll sort it out. Fluttershy, I have a friend that I would like for you to meet. I'll bring her along when I come over to see you during our honeymoon. She's only 6 years old. Her name is Cream the Rabbit and she loves animals like you, so I know you'll really get along. But that isn't my gift to you. My gift to you is something which you will love. I researched all the species of flowers at Canterlot Gardens and found that they all grow in the wild in Mobius and Equestria. So I went about and picked one of each and I also obtained some seeds. They are all waiting for you back at your cottage."
"Wow, Sonic," said Twilight, "that's very generous of you, giving us all gifts like that, on your wedding night!" Suddenly, after Twilight had finished, Rarity's Cutie Mark flashed and she fell to the floor in pain. "Oh my gosh, Rarity, are you OK?"
"I don't know! I just felt a pain in my Cutie Mark. That has never happened before."
"Are you better?"
"Yeah. The pain went as quickly as it came."
"Good." She yawned. "Guess I should go to hit the hay, huh? Enjoy your honeymoon, you two. I'll see you soon." With that, Twilight teleported to her bed in the library. Soon the only people left were the newlyweds. They talked as they walked. "What do you think happened to Rarity, RD?"
"Dunno. One minute, she was fine, the next, she was on the floor. But if there is one thing I'm sure about, it's that Twilight will figure it out." But what they all didn't know is that another pony in Equestria had felt it. A pony by the name of Princess Celestia. She knew what it was, but she didn't want to believe it.

The next day, Rainbow and Sonic were in Mobius, heading to Angel Island, the floating island of the echidnas. Rainbow had never seen anything like it. Sonic was amused by how surprised she was. "What? You have Cloudsdale, we have Angel Island." They laughed about it for a while and then they went to meet a friend. They made their way to Emerald Shrine, where a familiar red echidna was lying on top of the Master Emerald. "Hey, Knux!"
"Sonic! RD! Hey, guys! What're ya doing here?"
"Just stopping by as part of our Mobiquestria tour."
"Mobiquestria?"
"Mobius and Equestria!" During Sonic and Knuckles' conversation, Rainbow was mesmerised by the beautiful emerald in front of her, glowing bright with all the power. "And that's how I met her...Dashie? Ah, I see you like the Master Emerald. It controls the seven Chaos Emeralds, like the one on your ring. The Master Emerald is what keeps their power under control. I'll take a picture of it so you can show it to Rarity and the others." After Sonic had taken the picture, he heard a familiar shout. "KNUCKIE!" Rouge the Bat was on approach. Sonic then had a sly idea, with a look on his face to match. He grabbed Rainbow and told her to hide and he told Knuckles to act normal, as if they weren't there. When Rouge touched down and walked towards Knuckles, Sonic snuck up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. But, when she turned around, Sonic had sped behind her. This continued until Rainbow was on her knees with laughter and Rouge was dizzy. Eventually, Sonic stopped and helped Rouge steady herself. After a stinging slap to Sonic's cheek, even Rouge was laughing. Sonic's prank had brought a massive smile to everyone's face.

Meanwhile, in Ponyville, Pinkie was at the library with the rest of the gang, showing of a new outfit that Rarity had made. It was blue and yellow and it showed off her Cutie Mark. Everyone was stunned at the amazing outfit. Then, without warning, Pinkie's Cutie Mark flashed, like Rarity's had earlier on, and she fell to her knees in pain. Everyone ran over to help her, but Twilight wasn't only worried for her friend, but also confused as to how two almost identical Cutie Mark pains in two of her friends could be in such close proximity. She began to wonder what was causing it...

The next day, Rainbow and Sonic were nearing the Mobiquestria border when Sonic heard a frantic rustling from a nearby bush. He gingerly walked over and pushed aside the shrubbery to find a baby Mobian rabbit caught in a trap. "Oh no! I recognise this trap!" He spotted the logo on the side and his fears were confirmed. On the trap, words were inscribed on the side: Eggman Enterprises - it's for my enjoyment and your enslavement. "Eggman, does his cruelty know no bounds?" Sonic bent down and helped the defenceless bunny. It smiled then jumped on him and started licking his face. Sonic gently picked it up and showed it to Rainbow. "Mobian rabbits are sooooo cute!" she squealed in adoration. "Why does Egghead wanna trap them?"
"To create an army of robotic minions, designed to take me out."
"What?!"
"It's true!"
"Uh-huh... You think I'd believe you when you tell me that Egghead turns cute woodland animals into mean killing machines?"
"You should, 'cause it's true. His most successful animal robot creations were the E-Series robots. E-101 Beta, E-102 Gamma and so on. The best was E-123 Omega, but he turned against Baldy Nosehair, and now he works for GUN with Rouge and Shadow."
"Cool."
"Way past cool or 20% Cooler?"
"BOTH! Way past 20% Cooler! Haha! Of course excluding the fact that Eggman turns animals into evil robots."
"That's where I come in. I decided to take it upon myself to take him down, but he's always just out of reach. I've been doing this for as long as I can remember. I know that all his robots either contain a woodland creature or a Chaos Emerald, most of the time, so I destroy the robots and free the animals. I'm always kind to the animals I free. If they're hurt, I fix them up; if they are lost, I help them find their home."
"C'mon, Sonic, stop kidding!"
"I cannot tell a lie, Dashie. That's Egghead's gig. I am NOT like Dr Eggman." After this, Rainbow had a much larger sense of appreciation to Sonic. So far, he had proven himself generous, funny, kind and honest. All the good things.

Back at Ponyville, the Mane 6 minus 1 were heading down to Sweet Apple Acres, to help Applejack with Applebuck Season. Then, Fluttershy screamed, quite noisily for her, as her Cutie Mark flashed and she fell in pain. It seemed that these flashes were getting more frequent and more painful every time. As the rest of the group came to help her, they were shocked when it happened to Applejack as well. Not only did this worry Twilight, it angered her. "What's happening to my friends?! But more importantly, why?"

"So Dashie, which of your friends d'ya wanna go and see next?"
"Let's go see Twilight! I bet she has a ton of Canterlot stories to tell you!" So, the two speed demons blasted off to Ponyville library.
They knocked on the door and were greeted by Spike the Dragon, Twilight's number one assistant. "Hey, guys. Look, now isn't really a good time, Twilight's having one of her 'tardy' moments." Rainbow had told Sonic the story about how crazy Twilight had become when she thought she was going to be tardy, so they both understood what Spike meant.
"What's going on?"
"I dunno, guys. Twilight won't tell me."
Rainbow and Sonic pushed past Spike to find Twilight Sparkle furiously throwing books and research sheets on the floor and her desk. "Twi? You OK...?"
"NO, I am NOT okay. Remember the Rarity incident at the wedding? Well, it's spread, it seems, to everyone in the Mane 6 except me and you, Dashie. They seem to have gotten worse. AJ and Fluttershy are in the hospital."
"Oh my, Twilight. That sounds dreadful. Sorry, Sonikku, it looks like we'll have to cut short the honeymoon."
"That's okay, Dashie. I'm worried too. Twilight, could you tell me when these all happened."
"You know when Rarity's was. Pinkie Pie was the day after, just after lunch, and Fluttershy and AJ were both yesterday, within seconds of each other, just before sundown."
"What's happening to them?"
"I...I don't know..."
"I do." said a new voice from the upper level of the library, a voice which the ponies recognised instantly. "Princess Celestia! What's going on? What's happening to my friends? And how do you know?"
"They are losing control of their elements of harmony. I thought this story was just a myth, but, apparently, I was mistaken. Before I was born, it was told that the six pony sisters who each represented the Elements of Harmony suddenly all lost control of them, and, the stories go that, they lost their powers when their cutie marks flashed and they felt pain. As my sister and I were once linked to the Elements, we can feel every time it happens."
"Is there a cure? Please tell me there's a cure!"
"I'm sorry, my young student, the effects are irreversible. Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack and Fluttershy will never get there power back, and I fear it could happen to you and Rainbow, soon. I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do." Then, the princess of the sun lifted off and flew back to Canterlot. "Right, maybe I should think about this by elements. First, it was generosity, then laughter, then kindness and honesty." After each element was named, Sonic's face became whiter and whiter as he had flashbacks about the past few days: the gifts at the wedding, the prank, freeing the bunny, and never lying. He uttered two words, barely audible, but still loud enough to be heard. "It's me..."
"What?! Sonic, how could it be you? You weren't even here for any except Rarity."
"Think, Dashie. The gifts, the prank, the bunny, the fact I never tell lies, all at similar times as to when your friends lost their powers. I have to go. I can't stay here. I HAVE TO GO!"
"No, Sonic. Don't leave me!"
"Why should I stay? I'll only end up hurting you and stealing your element, like I've done with everypony else!" He sped out the door, faster than ever, too fast for Rainbow to stop him. "Sonic..." she whispered, before falling to her knees and crying.

Sonic was running. He didn't know where he was going, and he didn't care. He just needed to get away from this place. He thought about the past year. The date, the kiss, their first race. All of his greatest moments in the past year were with her, the love of his life. He stopped. All of those great moments were with Rainbow Dash, and now she was at risk because of him. He sat down under a tree and stroked his medallion. He started playing the song from the wedding:

{And now I'm upset
And feelin' bluuuuue
Because I now have to
Abandon youuuu

You and I
we were the same
We may never
Meet again

You were the love
I'd been missing
Yours were the lips
I loved kissing
You were my girl
My newfound wife
I'll miss you, Rainbow
Love of my life.}

This time, there was no one to applaud him. No smiling ponies. No smiling Mobians. No siblings with their instruments. Just Sonic and his tears. Then, in the distance, he thought he heard a voice in the wind. He stood up and looked until he spotted a purple unicorn galloping towards him. "Twilight! Stop! Don't come any closer! I'm not going back!" Sonic stood up and was about to start running when Twilight teleported in front of him. "No, Sonic, you stop! Stop and think."
"What do you think I've been doing? I don't ever want to steal Rainbow's powers. I don't want to hurt her."
"If you don't want to hurt her, then come back. She's gone back to her home and has locked herself in. She's said she is never coming out until she sees you again."
"But, if I go back, I'll be showing her loyalty and I will destroy her powers. The only way I will ever see her again, she will have to come to me, not the other way around!" Sonic slid the ring off his finger and threw it to Twilight. "Give this to Rainbow. Tell her it'll never work between us. And tell her I'll be at the palace in Mobotropolis. It's up to her if she comes to see me or not. Tell her to say that she's there to see Prince Sonic, if she decides to come." Sonic blasted off, heading back to his homeland.

Twilight knocked on Rainbow's door, only to receive a reply of "IF YOU'RE NOT SONIC, GO AWAY!"
"Rainbow, it's Twilight! I have something for you. It's from Sonic." The door opened before she had finished. "What is it?" Twilight levitated the ring. "Oh... He's gone for good, hasn't he?"
"Yes, but it was to protect you."
"How? How is leaving me going to protect me?"
"He didn't want to show loyalty and steal your element. But he told me to tell you to go to the palace at Mobotropolis if you wanted to see him." Rainbow was about to Sonic Rainboom before Twilight had finished. "Say you're there to see Prince Sonic." Twilight cast a levitation spell on the ring which made it follow Rainbow and she Sonic Rainboomed straight for Mobotropolis.

She arrived at the palace gates in half an hour. She walked up to the guard who blocked her path. "State your business."
"I'm here to see Prince Sonic."
"State your name."
"Rainbow Dash."
"Go right ahead, Miss Dash. The prince will see you now." She boosted into the palace and made a beeline straight for the throne room, where she found Queen Aleena and the Sonic Underground, minus Sonic. "Excuse me, your majesties."
"Rainbow? What're you doing here?"
"Seeing Sonic. Where is he?"
"He's up in his quarters. He hasn't come out since he arrived back."
"Thank you, your highness." Rainbow Dash turned and left the throne room. She knew where Sonic's room was because she had visited here when she and Sonic were still dating. She flew up the stairs, straight to his door. She gingerly opened the door. "Sonic? Oh...my..." Sonic's room was plastered with pictures of all the happy moments they had shared together. Every inch of every wall was covered, except for one small section. He had a picture frame hanging on the wall with a caption under it. It was too small for Rainbow to read from a distance, so she walked over to it. She gasped when she saw what it said: Our first child. "Oh, Sonic.."
She turned towards the bed, and there lay the prince hedgehog himself. "Hello, Dashie."
"Hello, Sonikku." Rainbow levitated the ring towards Sonic. "I believe this is yours."
"Thank you." All of a sudden, his eyes shut tight and his right hand clenched into a fist. "Sonic? Are you okay?" He nodded as he removed his glove, revealing his ring. "What's that?"
"It's a family heirloom, having been passed down 50 generations of Hedgehogs. I've been fighting this since I arrived back home.
"Why?"
"Because it is a risk to Twilight. It's magic. It contains all of my forms: Super, Hyper, Darkspine, Werehog, Dark Super and Fleetway. Without it, we would never have had our first kiss in front of the moon, but I wouldn't be a threat to Twilight. I can't take it off, because if I did, I would be dishonouring my entire family and would lose all my powers."
"It's okay, Sonic. I understand." Suddenly, a strange dark blue floating creature with a yellow "M" on its belt burst through the door. Sonic was less than pleased. "What do you want, Bokkun?"
"I have a message for you from Dr Eggman." Just the name of the doctor sent shivers down the spines of the rodent and the equine. "What does Dr Eggman want this time?" Bokkun pulled out a small yellow TV and pressed play to reveal a pre-recorded message from the doctor himself. "Ah, Sonic, my favourite rodent. Listen well because I'm not saying this again. If you want to save your precious little speedy pony, you'll have to be quick about it. This message will self destruct in 30 seconds." Then, Eggman's face disappeared from the screen. Sonic grabbed the TV and opened the window and threw it as far as he could, away from the palace and into the nearby lake. After the 30 seconds were up, water blasted up like a geyser. Bokkun had left, and Sonic and Rainbow were on their own. "What was that all about? I'm still here, aren't I?" Just as she said that, a giant claw came into the room and grabbed her. "Sonic! HELP!" She screamed as she was pulled away from Sonic. He gave instant chase to the claw, following it outside to the front of the palace. It was connected to a giant robot, styled in the image of Dr Eggman. Sonic thought he had destroyed it, but apparently, he was mistaken. It was the Death Egg Robot. At the top, was the evil genius himself. "Eggman! Let go of my wife!"
"Haha! Sonic, what an unpleasant surprise!"
"Quit playing around, Egghead! I won't ask again. LET! MY! WIFE! GO!"
"You'll have to fight me for her." Sonic felt a surge of power and he knew what was coming. He looked in the general direction of Ponyville and whispered, "I'm sorry, Twilight." Then he looked at his wife. The sight of her useless struggling against the claw triggered the greatest transformation. His fur went black, his eyes became without irises or pupils, his quills lengthened and turned upwards and small, white flashes could be seen around his body. Dark Hyper Sonic had been unleashed. But, not only did it release this new form, it released his magic.

Rarity was heading to the library with Pinkie to see Twilight. She was worried about Applejack and Fluttershy and was going to see if Twilight had figured it out. They were approaching the library when a bright pink, purple and white light engulfed them, emanating from every window of the massive tree. "Ooh, a PARTY! This must mean she's figured it out!" Pinkie sprinted forward and burst through the door. "Twilight, does this mean you've solved it? Twilight? Twil-" Pinkie's sentence was cut short by the sight in front of her. "R-R-Rarity... Rarity. RARITY! You are going to want to see this!" After hearing Pinkie's screams, Rarity ran up the stairs. She stopped when she saw what had caused Pinkie's screams. There, lying unconscious on the floor, was their purple friend. Spike emerged from his hiding place under the bed with tears in his eyes. "Spike? What happened?"
"I don't know. Twilight and I were looking for a book and she had just started using a spell to try to find it, when her cutie mark flashed and her horn glowed violently. I'm scared." They hadn't noticed her horn until now. It was badly cracked, and its tip was black. Unicorn horns are very sensitive, so if they were damaged, very rarely did they work again. "We need to get her to a hospital, quickly!"

Meanwhile, back in Mobotropolis, Sonic was still fighting his nemesis. "Eggman, you are really starting to try my patience. I won't ask again. LET GO OF MY WIFE!" On the last word, Sonic created a massive energy sphere, and threatened to fire it. "Okay, Sonic, I'll give you a choice. It's her life or yours. Take your pick." Sonic stopped dead in his tracks, his face contorted in inner turmoil. If he sacrificed himself to save Rainbow, he would be showing loyalty and would only end up hurting her anyway, but if he walked away, Rainbow would die and he could never live with that guilt. Rainbow saw that he had made his final decision. "No, Sonic, don't sacrifice yourself for me. I don't want you to die. Look after everypony for me, especially Fluttershy. I want you to fire that energy sphere at me. Do it. Do it now!" Sonic then had an idea. An idea which could save them both. He fired the sphere then yelled, "Chaos Control!" Time seemed to freeze. Dark Hyper Sonic walked around and looked at the still world. His energy sphere hung lifelessly in the air. Eggman was screaming. Then he saw Rainbow Dash. She was smiling. She thought it was over, so she had been remembering all the good times in her life. Without hesitating, Sonic jumped up to the claw of the soon to be destroyed robot and grabbed Rainbow from its grip. He set her down on the ground. Then, he flew back up to Eggman's cockpit. Eggman was frozen in the midst of an escape attempt, frantically trying to release his seatbelt buckle. Sonic knew just what to do with him. He pushed him back down into the seat and used an unbreakable Chaos Force to keep him trapped there. Then, he destroyed the controls of the robot, leaving Eggman stranded, waiting for his energy sphere. Just as the world around him was beginning to reanimate, Sonic jumped down and landed beside Rainbow. The world was now moving at the proper speed. Sonic, and a bewildered Rainbow Dash, looked up to watch Eggman's final moments. He was screaming as the energy sphere homed in on him. He made a last futile attempt to escape, but to no avail. The energy sphere was too fast, and it killed him instantly. Eggman was dead. Mobius was free. As was Rainbow Dash, but it wasn't all good news. Sonic had shown extreme loyalty, which resulted in extreme pain for her as her element was stolen. Sonic was too busy celebrating to notice. He called Sally.

*Ring Ring*
"Hello?"
"Sally, I have great news!"
"What is it, Sonic?"
"You must destroy the box I gave you at the wedding. Don't open it, just destroy it, as soon as possible."

"How is that good news?"

"Because it means that it is no longer needed. Eggman is finally gone! Mobius is free!"
"What?! How?"
"I discovered a new form, Dark Hyper Sonic, and I used it to overpower him."
"But, I only thought you went Dark when you were really angry."
"I was extremely angry! Dr Eggman was attacking Rainbow Dash so I-" Sonic stopped talking.
"Sonic? Are you still there?"
"Yeah, I'm still here."
"Are you OK? You sound troubled."
"Have you heard of the Equestrian Elements of Harmony?"
"Yeah. They're generosity, laughter, kindness, honesty, magic and loyalty, right? Rainbow and the others each represent them."
"Not anymore. I've been unintentionally stealing them since the wedding, and now I'm hurting Rainbow Dash by saving her life. Listen, can I call you back? I have to go and check on my wife."
"OK, Sonic."
"Tell Tails I'll be home soon. Bye, Sal."
*Call Ended*
Sonic turned around and saw what was happening to his wife. She was writhing in agony, screaming as he stole her element. Her cutie mark glowed much brighter than everypony else's had. She also had a visible rainbow aura surrounding her. Suddenly, it all stopped. Rainbow was lying on the ground, unconscious. Sonic feared the worst, but was relieved to find a pulse, but it was very weak. She needed immediate medical attention. Sonic, who was back in his normal form, bent down and touched Rainbow. He pulled out a Chaos Emerald and Chaos Controlled them both to Ponyville Hospital.

Needless to say, the staff at the hospital were quite startled when a blue hedgehog and an unconscious cyan Pegasus appeared in the middle of the main hall, but they were straight into action, assisting Sonic in carrying Rainbow to her room, which, coincidentally, was the same room as Twilight. Rarity and Pinkie were there, as well as the recently hospitalized ponies, Fluttershy and Applejack. Spike was nowhere to be seen. All the ponies noticed Sonic's arrival and they all saw Rainbow. "What happened, sugarcube? Not RD, too?"
"I'm afraid so."
"Why does this keep happening to our friends?!" This proved to Sonic that Twilight hadn't told anypony else what was going on. Sonic then felt guilty about what he was doing to them and what he was about to tell them, but he knew he'd have had to own up anyway. "It's because of me. I've been unintententionally stealing your Elements of Harmony." He explained everything to the ponies, including the fact that there was no cure. Princess Celestia entered. "Hello, ponies. Hello, Sonic. I know this is hard for you, Sonic, but could you please stand outside for a moment. I know it isn't the best time, but I need to hold a conference with the Mane 6, conscious or otherwise." Sonic obeyed and walked outside. "What's this about, Princess?" Applejack asked when Sonic closed the door. Celestia didn't answer straight away. First, she established a mind link with Rainbow and Twilight, then she spoke. "I have found a way to cure the loss of the elements, but Rainbow won't like it." She glanced over to the door, then to the blue Pegasus in the hospital bed. "The only cure is to...to kill the one responsible, before a week is up since the first theft."
/No. You will not harm him.\ This was from Rainbow Dash. Celestia had projected the thought to everypony in the room, including Twilight. /You will not harm him.\ Her repetition showed the ponies she was certain. "But, Rainbow, if we don't, then we'll never be able to stop Discord again, or Queen Chrysalis, or King Sombra. The only other option would be to entrust Sonic to use the elements and you know why we can't do that. Sonic has an entire country to rule; we can't ask him to protect ours as well."
/I don't care! You. Will. Not. Harm. Him.\ Then, something phenomenal occurred. Rainbow Dash woke up. Sonic saw this and ran into the room. "DASHIE! You're awake!" Then he realised how quiet everypony was. "Am I missing something?"
"I'm so sorry, Sonic."
"What for, Princess?"
"I found a cure for the theft of the elements-" Princess Celestia explained everything to him. Sonic slowly lost his normal happy attitude and he gained a sombre, serious expression, one which Rainbow had never seen before. But she also saw his eyes, and she saw that he was willing. "Don't do it, Sonic. Please. I can't lose you again. Not ever."
"No, Dashie. They're right. I need to die to save you."
"Just, STOP, SONIC! We haven't even been married a full week yet. I will not lose you."
"Dashie, calm down. The doctor back in Mobius said you shouldn't put too much strain on yourself."
This confused the other ponies. "Why did she have to go to the doctor in Mobius?"
"For about a week before the wedding, she had been complaining about extremely bad headaches. She was on pain relief medication until the wedding. The doctor couldn't seem to find a reason." As if on cue, a reason made itself very clear. Rainbow was on the floor with a bright blue light emanating around her forehead. Everybody in the room became extremely concerned, especially Sonic. "Dashie?" He turned to Celestia. "What's going on? Help her!"
"No. This is incurable. I've only ever seen this once before, and the results were quite...explosive. Stand back." Everyone backed away slowly and took cover behind Twilight's bed. The writhing blue Pegasus started to glow all around her body, but mostly around her forehead. Then, the explosion came. All the ponies and Sonic were engulfed by the blue light, and the shockwave blew them all to the floor. The noise was loud enough to wake Twilight. As soon as the light had subsided, they all looked at Rainbow, causing everyone, except Celestia, to gasp. There before them, stood Rainbow Dash, back to her former health, but with one small but extremely important and extremely noticeable difference. There on the forehead, poking out through her fringe, was a horn, long enough to rival Celestia's and powerful enough to almost match Twilight. She had turned into an alicorn. She shook her head to come back to reality. Then, she continued to tell Sonic not to sacrifice himself. "Nothing is worth your life, Sonic."
"But, Dashie, if you all don't kill me soon, then you'll never get back the elements of harmo-"
"First child, Sonic. What about our family?!"
"Rainbow, just stop and let me explain. You seem to have forgotten about something. The Chaos Emeralds. Use the Chaos Emeralds to bring me back to life." Sonic scribbled something onto a page and handed it to Rainbow. "Remember this. It's the only way to get me back. But don't forget that I have to be brought back before two minutes after I died, or else it's permanent. OK, ponies, I'm ready." All the Mane 6 surrounded Sonic. They were all frowning, and Fluttershy was crying. The six ponies closed their eyes as an aura encased them, emanating form the horns of Twilight and Rainbow. The two auras combined into a blinding red light encasing the hedgehog. Then, a dark multicoloured beam blasted from Twilight's and Rainbow's horns, piercing through Sonic's heart, killing him instantly.

Nopony said a word. Not even a whisper. Even Pinkie was silent, her poofy mane and tail straightening. Fluttershy was too sad to even whimper. Only one pony was sadder. Rainbow Dash. She was down on her knees, crying over her dead hero. Eventually, she stood up and she used her newly acquired alicorn abilities to summon those seven gems of miracles. She laid them in a circle around Sonic's corpse and read the sheet:

"The servers are the seven chaos.

The master is the one who unifies the chaos.

Oh chaos emeralds, gems of miracles, heed my call.

I wish to free my husband's soul

From his eternal slumber.

I wish to release the elements of harmony

So that they can return to their rightful place.

And I wish to speak to Sonic

Once again.

Bring him back to me. Please."

A new aura surrounded Sonic. This time it was a mixture of white, purple, blue, red, orange and pink. The colours then exploded out of the aura and towards the ponies they represented: purple (representing Generosity) went to Rarity; blue (representing Laughter) went to Pinkie; red (representing Loyalty) went to Rainbow; orange (representing Honesty) went to Applejack; the two different shades of pink (representing Kindness and Magic) went to Fluttershy and Twilight. The six friends had their elements back, but they weren't smiling just yet, for they still did not have their friend back. He was still dead, the white aura enveloping him completely. Without warning, the aura expanded, nearly blinding the six mares. When they reopened their eyes, they saw that Sonic was no longer lying on the floor; he was floating in the air, smiling at them as Super Sonic. Six of the ponies present had never seen this before, even Celestia didn't understand. "What's going on?" But, before Sonic could explain, Rainbow Dash joined him in the centre of the glowing gems. She closed her eyes and was soon engulfed in golden light. Then, when the light faded, she revealed her Golden Rainbow form to her friends for the first time. "These seven Chaos Emeralds are the most powerful stones in the universe. Nobody knows where they came from, how they came to be, or even the full extent of their power. Even I don't fully understand them. There are only two people alive who do: Knuckles, the last of the Echidnas, and Sonic. What I do know, however, is that they can be the creators of great power, but great destruction as well."

Sonic took over. "If your heart is pure and good and strong enough to push out the darkness, they will provide you with immense strength, invulnerability, power and speed. Rainbow and I are two of those hearts. But, if someone like your Discord, or my Dr. Eggman, whose hearts are filled with evil and hatred uses the Emeralds, it will bring about the end of days as we know it. Not even the magic of Celestia, Luna, Twilight and Rainbow combined would be able to defeat them. They would be unstoppable. That's why I took it upon myself to make sure that never happens. I am Sonic the Hedgehog, Prince Ogliville Maurice Takeshi of Mobius, protector of the Chaos Emeralds, destroyer of the darkness." Nopony spoke after this speech. Not even Pinkie.

One year later, all of the mares were long out of the hospital, except one. Rainbow lay in her hospital bed, staring longingly out of her window. All her friends had come and gone, and were moving on with their lives. Twilight had finally learned her 50th spell, the first pony ever, besides Celestia, to perfect the age altering spell. Rarity had finished two more design collections: Summer Chic and her new Pegastyle range. Fluttershy's business was booming. She had sold nearly fifteen different pets in the past two weeks. She was getting ready for breeding season. Sweet Apple Acres' cider manufacturing enterprise was becoming more popular, even reaching Mobius. And of course Pinkie had been promoted at Sugarcube Corner to Head Baker. But, here was Rainbow, stuck in hospital, waiting for the latest Daring Do, and for the news. Only one person hadn't left her side. Sonic. He had borrowed Twilight's sofa from the library and had placed it beside Dash's bed. He hadn't moved from his position since Rainbow was re-registered into the hospital. He stared at her, lovingly. She hadn't changed much since her alicorn transformation, apart from the fact that she might have gained some weight, not that he'd ever tell her that. She'd probably buck him back to Mobius! Suddenly, the door burst open, and in walked Doctor Whooves and Nurse Redheart, two of the most experienced medical staff in the establishment. Sonic and Rainbow both went into full alert; this would be the news that they had been waiting for. "Well?" They spoke as one. Doctor Whooves smiled at them. "Congratulations!"

"Am I getting out?"

"Not even close."

"Then, what's the good news?" Doctor Whooves motioned to Nurse Redheart who drew out a small white cylinder. She handed it to the doctor, who handed it to Rainbow. "Your results have come back positive. You might want to start discussing filly names." The couple couldn't believe it. They were expecting their first child, the moment Sonic had been waiting for.

A week later, the big day arrived. Rainbow was whisked away to the maternity ward while Sonic waited outside. And waited. And waited. Eventually, Doctor Whooves came out and told him to come and meet his daughter. He ran inside. There, in Rainbow's arms, was a small alicorn filly. She was bright blue, like her mother, but her eyes were green, the same shade as Sonic's. Her hair was dominantly blue, like Sonic, but there were small streaks of red, green, purple, pink, orange and yellow mixed in. She, like her mother was an alicorn, her horn just breaching her mane. She yawned and fell asleep in Rainbow's arms. She looked up and smiled at her husband. "Isn't she adorable?"

"She sure is. Now for the pressing matter of her name.

"How about…Peggie?

"Not a chance, Dashie. I think Spectrum sounds nice."

"Spectrum Dash. I like it. Now let's get her home."

"Where is home? Truth be told, I would rather raise her here, rather than in Mobius. I'll stay here."

"But, you are in charge of Mobius. It's your kingdom."

"No, it's my mother's kingdom. I could call Manic, tell him to stand in for me if Mother dies. There's no point in trying to persuade me. I've made up my mind. You take her home to your cloud home, I need to go and talk to Twilight." Rainbow flew up to her cloud mansion and Sonic headed to the Golden Oaks Library, but first he needed to make two phone calls.

*Ring Ring*

"Hello?"

"Tails, it's me. Look, you know where Dashie's house is?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Could you go round and fix an elevator connecting it to Ponyville? Make sure it can't be accessed by anyone other than me. Put a voice recognition lock on. The works. Think you can handle that?"

"Yeah, but why?"

"I'm moving in."

"WHAT? Sonic you can't be serio-"

*Call Ended*

One down, one two go.

*Ring Ring*

"Hey, you've got Manic."

"Hey, bro, it's me. Now, I need to ask you a very important question so think very carefully before you answer."

"OK, bro, what is it?"

"If and when Mum abdacates, will you fill in for me as ruler of Mobius?"

"What? Sonic, that's a HUGE gig! Why?"

"I'm moving in with Dashie."

"Again, why?"

"You'll find out in due time. So, are you in?"

"I'm in. I will be your stand-in."

"Catch you on the flip side. Say hi to Mum and Sonia for me."

*Call Ended*

As soon as he ended his second phone call, he arrived at the library, and knocked on the door. The door was opened by Spike. "Hey, Sonic. Are you here to see Twilight?"

"As a matter of fact, I am."

"Hold on, I'll go get her for you." Sonic walked into the library's large foyer. He waited a few seconds until he saw Twilight Sparkle walking down the stairs. "Sonic, what a pleasant surprise. How may I help you?"

"You're very good with magic, aren't you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I need you to enchant me with a permanent cloud-walking spell, if it's possible."

"I'll try, but only when I know why."

"I'm moving in with Dashie and I don't want to fall from the sky every time I go to sleep."

"OK, here goes." Twilight's horn glowed with a bright purple aura. Sonic felt a tingling sensation around his entire body. Soon, the process was complete and the tingling stopped. Sonic felt a bit lighter, but not too much. He turned to face the unicorn and smiled. "Thanks, Twi. I owe you one!" With that he turned tail and boomed out of the library and towards Dashie's home in the sky, where he was surprised to find Tails already there, working on the elevator he'd requested, which was even nearing completion. "Woah, Tails. How'd you do that? I knew you were good, but not that good."

"I'm not, I just brought one of my newer inventions which stops time. In my terms, I've been here for the best part of four hours. Now all I need is for you to set the voice recognition, then I'm done." Tails pointed to the small microphone and Sonic leaned in to state his entry code. "Gotta go fast." Tails rolled his eyes; somehow he knew he was going to say something like that. The computer replied in its electrical monotone. Password Confirmed. Welcome, Sonic.

"Thanks, Tails. See you round, bud." Tails turned to walk away and Sonic waved him off. Then he got into the elevator and pressed up.

Rainbow smiled as she saw Sonic arriving in his elevator. But, when the door opened, she became scared that he would fall. Needless to say, she was certainly shocked when Sonic stepped onto the cloud and walked over to her. "Twilight put a permanent cloud-walking spell on me. I'm safe. And don't worry, I've put a voice recognition system on the door. Nopony or nobody can get in but me. Now, onto other matters, how are we gonna tell the others?"

"We'll hold an 'emergency conference' at Sugarcube Corner."

"Great, and Tails gave me this great invention last year. It's a holographic sack. Put simply, it's invisible, as is anything you put inside. So, we can put Spectrum inside so that we don't let the filly out of the bag before we need to! And, don't worry, Tails designed it so that anything inside can breathe safely."

"Good. I'll send the letters now. Do you want me to send letters to your Mobian friends as well?"

"Yeah, if you can."

"I'm an alicorn, honey. I think I can handle it." Rainbow made 20 scrolls and 20 quills appear out of thin air and she wrote this message on each of them:

Dear _,

I would like you to attend an important meeting at Sugarcube Corner in half an hour. It is imperative that you attend. Yours, Rainbow Dash

She sent this message to Celestia, the Mane 5, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Tails, Amy, Sonia, Manic, Aleena, Sally, Cream, Cosmo, Rouge, Shadow and Knuckles.

Then, she got Spectrum and placed her in the holographic sack, which she then picked up with her horn. Sonic climbed onto her back and they flew down to Sugarcube Corner.

Half an hour later, and the tiny confectionary was almost completely full with ponies and Mobians alike, all thinking the same thing: What was so important?

Rainbow got their attention. "Now, I bet you're wondering why I called you all here today. While it isn't a matter of life and death, it is a matter that is very important to me and Sonic. It isn't bad, in fact, it is very, very good. And it is something that I guarantee that you will all like, too."

Sonic took this opportunity to say something. "I… no, we are so happy that you could join us on this happy day." He signalled to Rainbow to get ready to reveal Spectrum. "Presenting, the newest member of the royal family, Spectrum Dash!" Rainbow picked up her daughter from the holographic sack, revealing her to all 40 eyes who hadn't seen her before. There was a moment of silence, then Pinkie triggered the madness. "Aww!" She galloped over to the parents and their baby, followed suite by the rest of their guests. Sonic was almost run over by Amy and Sally, who both showered him with congratulations. This process was repeated 20 times for each parent, and soon they were all getting ready to leave. Fluttershy, however was stopped by the parents. "Fluttershy, we know that this is a lot to ask, and we fully understand if you decline, but, we would like you to be Spectrum's godmother."

"oh…my."

"Is that a yes?"

"You're right, that is a lot to ask. But, why me?"

"Because, you're so good at looking after your animals. You're the logical choice."

"Well, OK. I'd be glad to be her godmother. I was just a little shocked."

"We're glad to hear it. We'll be in touch."

Five years later, not much had changed. Rainbow was at the same level as Twilight magicwise and Spectrum was having magic training with Twilight every week. Spectrum had also joined the Cutie Mark Crusaders, none of whom had their Cutie Marks yet. They had tried everything over the five years from skydiving, inventing and construction to small scale stuff, like pillow fighting and doing laundry. The biggest difference, however, is that Twilight had also become an alicorn. She had solved the unfinished spell of the great wizard unicorn, Starswirl the Bearded. She had shown all the traits of a true leader and was next in line for the throne when Celestia stepped down. The rest of the mane six had changed too. Pinkie Pie had become calmer, becoming less hyperactive all the time. Applejack was now the head of Sweet Apple Acres and had been for the past two years when Granny Smith, the last surviving founder of Ponyville, decided to pass down ownership of the farm. Rarity had decided to design an entire range of clothes for children: Filli. Fluttershy took self-assertiveness training and even went as far as taking self-defence training with Rainbow! The story continues, however, with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, after their most recent attempt: hoof-shining. Spectrum was the last in, but she was accepted to the group almost instantly, not only because she was a "blank flank", but also because her mother was Scootaloo's idol. She had joined on her 4th birthday, when she had met the Crusaders at Sugarcube Corner at her party. She walked in, after the other girls, covered in splotches of hoof-shine polish. She moaned. "I hope Mom is as fast with a bath as she is with her wings. But girls, don't you think that are talents can't all be the same? Isn't their something we are each individually good at which we love?" The other Crusaders stopped and thought about it.

"Well, ahm quite good at…baking. Back when Granny was alive, we always used ta make apple pies. I loved makin' 'em almost as much as I loved eatin' 'em!" said the Earth filly.

"And, Rarity always tells me I'm a good singer. Maybe I should give that a try!" said the unicorn filly.

"And I love doing stunts on my scooter. Besides your mom, Spectrum, my scooter is my favourite thing ever!" said the Pegasus. "What about you, Spectrum? What are you good at?"

Spectrum thought for a second. "I love flying with Mom. Even though I'm only five, I can keep up with her almost! Maybe I should try getting my Cutie Mark the same way Mom got hers: in a race!"

"Yeah! Today's the day, girls! Today, the Cutie Mark Crusaders get their Cutie Marks!" The four fillies freeze. Scootaloo voices all their thoughts. "What happens when we get our Marks? We'll stop being the Cutie Mark Crusaders. We won't need to be anymore. So what, we'd just split up and go our separate ways?"

Her three friends looked at her gloomily. But, Spectrum smiled at the older members. "No matter what, we'll still be friends, right?"

"Right!"

With that, the four friends headed off to do their respective talents. Spectrum rocketed home to the cloud mansion. Rainbow and Sonic were quite surprised when their daughter burst through the front door. "Mom, Dad, could you try to enter me in a race?"

"Sweetie, is there any reason why you wanna enter a race?"

"Is getting my Cutie Mark a valid reason? I love speed, just like you Mom, and you earned your Cutie Mark in a race, so why can't I?"

"It's just, that we don't want you to hurt yourself."

"Please, Mom, for me?" She stared at her parents, with the puppy dog eyes that neither of them could resist. "OK. We'll be rooting for you honey."

"Thanks. See you later!" She flew out of the house again, flying around all the cloud cities. But, her sensitive hearing, which she had inherited from Sonic, heard somepony crying and other nastier voices laughing evilly. She flew towards the sound to investigate, but she was shocked at what she saw. There, lying on a cloud, surrounded by bullies, was Scootaloo, and behind the bullies, Spectrum saw the reason for her crying: a pile of blue metal parts and two wheels, which used to be Scootaloo's scooter. This triggered a new feeling inside her, one that she had never felt before: rage. She flew straight towards the head bully but never made contact. Instead, she landed right in front of him, her horn almost poking his eye. "Hey! Leave her alone!"

"Why should we, blank flank? What're you gonna do about it, Spectrum Crash?"

"What did she do to you?"

"She was born. That's what Scootaloser did, blank flank."

Spectrum twitched. "Call me a blank flank, one more time. Go on-" Suddenly her voice became more menacing, "-I DARE YOU!" The small, angelic voice of Spectrum Dash had gone; this voice was the exact opposite: loud, deep, fierce. It was like Princess Luna's "Royal Canterlot Voice" only much deeper. The bullies shrank back a little. The head bully, however thought he would stir up a bit more trouble. "Blank flank."

"Big mistake, buddy boy!" Spectrum closed her eyes and started hovering. By now, a small crowd had gathered, confused by the loud roar earlier on. A black aura surrounded the blue filly and spread down to the land below. Nothing could prepare the Earth bound ponies for the moment when the Dragonhorn Mountain, named after the dragon cloud that threatened to cover Equestria, was lifted into the sky. Twilight saw from her library window, and was shocked. She knew that magic was doing this, but even she wasn't powerful enough to lift a mountain. She flew after the mountain, following it. When the Sun was blocked from the cloud mansion by the monstrous mountain, Sonic and Rainbow were curious. They looked out of their window and saw the behemoth. Sonic and Rainbow turned into their respective Super forms just as Princess Twilight flew past their window, so they decided to join her.

Meanwhile, back with the source of this magic, the ponies were running. Fast. They were terrified when this unknown, harmless-looking filly started glowing black. They thought that Discord had returned and was manipulating this filly. Only four ponies weren't running away: the bullies and Scootaloo. Spectrum slowly opened her eyes, which had gone completely black, just as the Dragonhorn pierced through the clouds. As more mountain became visible, the more the bullies got scared. Eventually, they were cowering in fear. "Please, we're sorry. Just don't hurt us!" Spectrum wasn't listening. She split the mountain into two halves, at least half a mile directly above the three bullies. Then, she smashed them together like cymbals, causing a massive rock slide. The immense boulders were falling at very high speeds towards the oppresors. The three Pegasi lay down flat with their hooves over their heads. The rocks made contact, and pushed the bullies through the clouds. They frantically started flapping their wings to evade the rock storm. The first two made it out without a scratch, but the leader went down after one of the rocks snagged his left wing, pulling out some of his flight feathers. He started freefalling out of control. His comrades tried to keep up with him, but they were too slow. They were suddenly knocked off balance by a streak of golden light. The leader had stopped trying. He had closed his eyes, expecting the worst, when he felt something grab onto his middle. He opened his eyes and saw a golden hedgehog lowering him down slowly. Super Sonic stopped two metres off the ground and threw him down. He wasn't a happy man. "OK, fellas, just because I saved one of you doesn't mean I like you. You have five seconds to get out of my sight and never return here before I drop the rocks." They look up to see that Super Sonic was levitating the entire rock storm in midair, so they knew he wasn't bluffing. "Five, four, three, two, one." He never got to reach zero. The bullies had gone. Super Sonic released the rocks, which fell into a pyramid, and he rocketed back up to where his daughter was waiting with Rainbow, Twilight and Scootaloo. Spectrum had just calmed down from her ordeal, returning to her normal state. Super Sonic burst through the clouds and landed softly. He couldn't return to his normal form just yet because he would be stranded on the cloud, with no way back. He walked over to his daughter and…smiled. "Don't worry, darling. The bullies shouldn't be bothering anyone here again, but don't you think your method was a tad overkill?"

"Not really. They were bullying Scoot, saying things like she shouldn't have been born. They destroyed her scooter," she said, gesturing towards the pile of metal. They called me a…blank flank. You know how much I hate that name."

Sonic looked over to Scootaloo. "Are you alright, Scootaloo?"

"Yeah, I-I'm fine."

"C'mon, I'll take you home. I want to talk to your parents about what happened." Before Scootaloo could say anything, Super Sonic picked her up and put her on his shoulders. He was about to fly off when Spectrum's flank flashed. "Uh, Spectrum. Turn around." The blue alicorn filly was curious about what her dad was talking about, until she saw her flank. There, in all its glory, was her Cutie Mark. It was quite similar to Rainbow's, except Spectrum's was forked rather than just one bolt and it was surrounded by a black sphere and a magic ring, like the ones Sonic used to collect. "What the hay does that mean?"

"It means that you are a Protector." Everypony gasped as Princess Celestia fluttered down gracefully, landing perfectly in front of Spectrum. "You are rare. Protectors are the most magical beings ever to exist in the universe. They survive to bring peace and harmony to their world by eliminating threats. It's extremely rare to have one in the same place as another, let alone family."

"What?"

"Your father is one of the Protectors. As am I. I am the weakest of the Protectors. You are more powerful than me with regards of magic, Sonic more powerful still. You have just proven you're worthy of joining us. Congratulations, Spectrum. I'll keep in touch." With a mighty flap of her eagle-like wings, Celestia rose off the cloud and flew away, back to Canterlot. Sonic went over to Spectrum and gave her a massive hug. "Well done, sweetheart! I'm so proud of you. We'll talk more when I get home. You go home with Rainbow and Twilight. I'll see you later." Sonic took off, with Scootaloo clinging on. "So, Scootaloo, where do you live?" Scootaloo remained silent. She started sobbing quietly. Sonic became worried. "Hey, Scoot, what's the matter?"

"No-Nothing, Sonic. It's just that… I don't have a home. I live in Ponyville Orphanage." Sonic's face fell. "Oh. Well, could you show me the way to get there? I'd still like to talk to your carers about what happened today." After Scootaloo had given him the directions, they continued their flight in silence. They finally landed outside the orphanage. Sonic returned to his natural blue state and took Scootaloo's hoof in his hand as they walked through the front door. He walked up to the front desk. "Hello, may I please speak to the head careworker?"

"Certainly, sir. May I ask your name?"

"Prince Ogliville Takeshi. But, please call me Sonic."

"Of course, Mr. Takeshi." She picked up the phone and called the office. After a brief conversation, she said, "She'll see you now." Sonic and Scootaloo walked in through the door to the office and were welcomed by an old mare behind a desk. "Hello, Mr. Takeshi. I'm Miss Canterham, the head careworker here at Ponyville Orphanage. How may I help you?"

"I just came along to tell you about an incident that occurred earlier on. My daughter is a close friend to Scootaloo here, and she was flying when she saw Scootaloo lying on a cloud, surrounded by bullies, who had destroyed her scooter…" Miss Canterham listened as Sonic recited the incident to her. She was saddened at some points, shocked at others, but she never said a word until he was finished. "…I'm just worried about her and I would hate to see her that upset again."

"Thank you, Mr. Takeshi, I'll make sure this never happens again."

"Much obliged." He turned to the orange filly. "Uh, Scoot? Could you go and play for a minute. I want to talk to Miss Canterham in private for a bit."

"Okay, Sonic." Scootaloo got up and walked out the door. Sonic turned back to Miss Canterham. "Mr. Takeshi, is there something else you would like?"

"Two things actually. First, stop calling me Mr. Takeshi. Call me Sonic. Second, I would maybe like to consider adopting Scoot." Miss Canterham was surprised. "Well, of course, you would need consent from your wife and from Scootaloo, and maybe your daughter, but you said she was good friends with Scootaloo so that shouldn't be a problem."

"Of course, I'll talk to them. Give me a phone call tonight regarding Scoot's decision."

"Certainly, Mr. Take- Certainly, Sonic." The hedgehog and the pony shook hand to hoof as Sonic stood to leave. "Thank you for everything." He walked out the door. As soon as he had left, Miss Canterham summoned Scootaloo in to her office.

Sonic blasted through Ponyville towards his ground-to-cloud elevator. He hated the change of pace when he was riding it up. He'd have to talk to Tails about that. He emerged at the top and went inside the house, into the living room. "Rainbow! Could you come in to the living room for a second? I need to talk to you!" Rainbow flew down the stairs and greeted Sonic with a hug. "Yeah, Sonic? What's up?"

"I just dropped Scootaloo off home."

"What's so important about that?"

"Let me finish. I just dropped Scootaloo off home…at Ponyville Orphanage."

"No! The poor thing. I should have seen the signs. Never once have I seen Scoot with any family members in all the years I've known her, and she never once said. Neither have the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Maybe that's why she always followed me around."

"Yeah, so I offered to adopt her, but only if she wants it and you want it."

"Well, she is my biggest fan, after all, so I don't think she'll turn down the opportunity to be in the same family as me, sort of. I certainly don't mind at all. But, what about Spectrum?"

"Well, those two girls are already quite close, so I don't think she'll have much of a problem with it." The phone rang. "That'll be the orphanage. So, shall I say that you'll accept?"

"Yes."

Sonic answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Sonic. It's Miss Canterham here. We spoke earlier about the adoption of Scootaloo and I'm pleased to say that she accepts. She seemed way too eager, if you ask me. What about your side? Your wife? How does she feel about this?"

"She's fine with it. She's known Scoot for quite a while. We'll come over some time tomorrow to pick her up. What time?"

"Is noon good for you?"

"Hmm, noon?" He looked at Rainbow, who mouthed We're free then to him. "Noon's good. See you then."

"Goodbye, Sonic." Sonic ended the call. "Spectrum's in for a nice surprise when we show her new sister, Scootaloo Dash." They went upstairs and Sonic took off his gloves, socks and shoes, and got into bed. Rainbow joined him and they fell asleep almost instantly. Today had been quite hectic.

They woke up at eleven. They had breakfast with Spectrum, neither of them mentioning Scootaloo. When they left to pick her up, they told her they were going shopping. They began their descent to the orphanage. Sonic made a phone call in the elevator.

*Ring Ring*

"Hello?"

"Hey, Twi, it's me. You know how the bullies scrapped Scoot's scooter? What happened to the junk?"

"I have it in the library."

"Well, do you think you could repair it with magic?"

"You know you're talking to Princess Celestia's student, right? I'll have it fixed by the time we've finished this phone call."

"Awesome. Can you pinpoint my signal?"

"Of course."

"Well then, after you've fixed it, could you teleport it to the location my signal is transmitting from. I'll keep the line connected until it arrives."

"Sure thing, Sonic. It's on its way now." Just as Twilight had said now, the fully repaired scooter materialized one foot in front of Sonic, just as the elevator touched down.

"Wow, you are good! Thanks!"

"Any time!"

*Call Ended*

Rainbow was waiting for Sonic at the bottom when she saw the scooter appear in a purple haze. She instantly knew that Sonic had called Twilight, telling her to fix it, and she smiled as Sonic stepped of the small glass cylinder. "Scoot's really gonna love you now!" She laughed as she picked it up with her horn. "C'mon, Sonic, let's race!"

"Oh, you are so on, Dashie!" Sonic and Rainbow lined up on a makeshift line that Sonic had just drawn in the dirt. "Let's make this interesting. The loser has to do the washing for a week."

"You're on, darling."

Sonic grinned mischeviously. "On your marks, get set, GO!" The two blue speedsters rocketed away from the start line, leaving two trails of dust in their wake. They kept switching positions. Every time one of them edged ahead, the other would speed up a little more and overtake again. It was then Sonic unleashed his secret weapon. He reached into his old brown backpack and pulled out a power ring, an invention of his recently deroboticized Uncle Chuck. Time seemed to slow down as the power ring took effect. The earth shook with a shockwave as Sonic sonic boomed ahead, causing Rainbow to lose concentration. Eventually, her hedgehog husband was nothing but a blue speck on the horizon. He skidded to a halt just outside the orphanage and quickly hid his power ring. He tapped his foot impatiently. "I'm waiting!" He elongated the last syllable to emphasise his point as his Pegasus wife neared the orphanage. "OK, Sonikku, you won, fair and square. As long as I don't have to listen to you bragging about it for the rest of our lives, then we'll get along just fine." Sonic and Rainbow laughed together as they walked into the main hall, where they saw Scootaloo waiting with Miss Canterham, just as the clock struck 12. Miss Canterham laughed. "Well, you two certainly are punctual!"

"We're rarely late for anything, especially anything important!" said the blue Pegasus.

"Wait, I know you. You're Rainbow Dash, right?"

"The one and only!"

"That explains why Scoot was so eager. You should've seen her room. You couldn't even see her wall, because she had so many posters of you." Rainbow blushed slightly at this. "Well, squirt? You ready to go?"

"You bet…M-Mom." She giggled slightly at this, but Miss Canterham said, "Not just yet. They still have to sign the custody papers and the adoption forms. They shouldn't take too long. You just wait here for a sec, unless you want to come in and watch."

"I'll come. It beats waiting, I guess." The three ponies and Sonic entered Miss Canterham's office. "Please take a seat." She gestured to two seats in front of her desk. "I need to go and fetch the papers." The two parents sat down, with Scootaloo on Rainbow's knee. Miss Canterham returned with the forms. She discussed each of them briefly and the couple signed them, as Prince Ogliville Takeshi and Rainbow Dash, without hesitation. Within five minutes, they were walking out of the orphanage, with their new daughter.

Scootaloo took the elevator with Sonic, because, although she could fly, she wasn't a very strong flier. Rainbow flew on ahead and Scootaloo watched her in admiration. Soon, the elevator reached the top and opened the doors. "Okay, Scoot, Spectrum doesn't know anything about us adopting you, so hide behind me." Scootaloo did as she was told and hid as Rainbow opened the door. "Spectrum, could you come and help us with the shopping." Spectrum galloped down the stairs to assist her parents with the shopping, but stopped when she saw that they had none. "What's going on?" Sonic and Rainbow grinned secretly at each other. "We would like you to meet your new sister!" Sonic stepped sideways, revealing Scootaloo. Spectrum squeaked with excitement as she realised who her new sister was. She was confused at first, but then she realised that Scoot must be an orphan. She didn't care, though. Scoot was her new sister so she ran over and gave her a hug and a "wing-hi-five". Sonic smiled on as his two daughters hugged and laughed together. "Now, Scoot, we still need to sort out your room, so for now, you'll be sleeping in Spectrum's room with her."

"Ok, Dad!" She giggled before she sprinted up the stairs after Spectrum.

Sonic sat down on the cloud sofa and turned on the TV. He loved Dashie's TV. Because it was so high, it could receive all the channels from everywhere around the world, including Mobius. He flicked through the channels, looking for something interesting. He managed to find something on the main Mobian news channel, but it wasn't what he had bargained for, and it wasn't good:

"Soleanna, The Kingdom of Acorn, the Great Forest and even the Hedgehog Kingdom were attacked today. At each location, there was a business card of an unknown villian. He called himself "The Sidekick". Each card was also accompanied by a "Wanted" poster for Sonic the Hedgehog, dead or alive. This incident occurred on the 6th anniversary of the end of the Eggman Empire by the hands of the freedom fighter extraordinaire. The Sidekick seemed to be targeting all of the main points of the blue speedster's life. Top crime analysts predict that The Sidekick's next target will be Emerald Shrine, Mobodoon or Mobotropolis. The Sidekick says that he will not stop until the blue blur is defeated, but Prince Sonic's location is currently unknown. Sadly, there were some fatalities: Queen Aleena, Manic Hedgehog, Sonic's brother, Princess Elise and Rotor the Walrus, one of the key members of the Knothole Freedom Fighters. Others, including Sally Acorn, Sonia Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower have been hospitalised. Princess Sally and Mr. Prower are both in critical condition. And the blue hero? Nowhere to be seen. Sonic, if you're watching, please come back. Mobius needs a leader. Mobius needs a hero. Mobius needs you."

Sonic turned black in a matter of seconds, back to his Dark Hyper form, but this was more. He was angrier now than when Eggman was attacking his wife. He felt his body growing in size, with his teeth sharpening to fangs and his fur growing longer. Two white stripes formed on his forehead. One of his hands became surrounded in armour, summoning a giant sword known as Excaliber. His eyes went white with red lines covering his eyes like a target. He started flashing with white sparks, and the tips of his quills were pointed upwards, going slightly gold at the tips. This was a combination of all of Sonic's forms: Dark, Hyper, Super, Werehog, Fleetway, Darkspine and Excaliber, all mixing together to form one mega form. This was Dark Hyper Fleetway Darkspine Super Excaliber Sonic the Werehog, but Sonic called this new form the "Ultra Werehog" form. He summoned his Chaos powers and blasted a hole in the floor. He didn't have time for doors. He was thankful that the werehog form hadn't hindered his flight ability or his speed as he blasted towards the Hedgehog Palace. He had one more thing to collect.

Rainbow was frightened when she heard the Chaos Blast. She flew downstairs to find a hole in the floor where she expected to find her husband. "Sonic?" She saw the TV, on the Mobian News Network channel. They were still talking about The Sidekick Attack. Rainbow paused the TV and rewound it to a few minutes ago. Her face fell as she continued watching the news. She knew Sonic had gone, but she didn't know if he was ever coming back.

Sonic had arrived back at his Palace. He blasted through the doors and up to his room. He opened a small box on his shelf and removed its content: his medallion. He put it on and touched it, unleashing his guitar. Then, he got a power ring from its hiding place. As quickly as he had come, Ultra Werehog Sonic then blasted out of the palace hunting his new foe. This was going to be messy. First, Sonic went to warn Knuckles about the prediction that Emerald Shrine would be attacked soon, and to Mobotropolis to warn King Acorn. At neither instances, did The Sidekick show his face, so Sonic was beginning to doubt the crime analysts, so he went to visit the Mobotropolis hospital. Before he entered, he reverted back to his normal form, and pushed open the door. He walked up to the receptionist. "Hello. I'm here to see Princess Sally Acorn, Princess Sonia Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower. Would you be able to tell me what room they are in?"

"P-Prince S-Son-nic! They are all in room 203, on the third floor." Sonic had sped off before she had finished. He exploded up the stairs and burst through the door to room 203. He was greeted by three unsynchronised beeping patterns. Sally and Tails were both comatose but Sonia was awake, and turned to her brother. "Hey," she said weakly, almost inaudible.

"How are you?"

"Just fine, considering…"

"Did you see The Sidekick?"

"Yeah. It was strange, he looked like Tails."

Sonic stole a glance at his foxy friend. It couldn't have been him…right?

"Anyway I was about to turn on the TV. Care to join me?"

The TV flickered to life.

"Mobius was thrown into turmoil today after the attacks by The Sidekick. Citizens of our peaceful country are angry at Prince Sonic for seemingly abandoning them. They have sent out search parties, searching for the lost prince. I have the leader of the largest search party here with me. Thank you for taking time to talk to us."

"Your welcome!"

"Tell me, why are you out looking for Sonic with The Sidekick still on the loose?"

"Well, my party believe that if we find Sonic and hand him over to The Sidekick, he'll leave us alone-"

Sonic switched off the TV. "Great, on the run from my own people; a fugitive."

"Don't worry, Sonic. At least you still have a family waiting for you in Equestria. You're the only family I have left. No Mom, no Dad, no Manic, it's just the two of us now." She started crying.

"Sis, calm down. I'm not leaving you just yet, not until I've beaten the one who took them from us." He scowled at an invisible face. "He won't know what hit him."

"Well, I know this may sound crazy, but…maybe you should let the search party catch you and bring you in, because then you'd be able to defeat him quickly."

Sonic's eyes glistened with that. "Y'know, sis, that's not a bad idea. See ya!"

He stormed out of the hospital and ran towards the town square. Even though the TV was only on for a brief amount of time, Sonic had recognised the landmarks in the background, one of which was the statue of King Acorn in the town square. He kept running until he was finally spotted by a member of the search party, who just so happened to be the same man who was on the news. The blue prince slowed to a halt, allowing himself to be captured by the party, on camera as the news crew were still there. The leader hoisted him up and walked him back to the camera.

Sonia turned her TV back on and smiled as she saw that her plan had worked.

Rainbow, on the other hand, was not happy at all. She was scared. Scared for her husband.

"The hunt for the prince is over, Mobius! Sonic, can you give us a reason why you left Mobius?"

"Family."

"But, your family never left Mobius."

"Sorry, I guess I wasn't specific. I meant my wife and kids."

This drew a collective gasp from the crowds.

"You have children outside of your own country?"

"Yes."

"Where are they now?"

"They are still at home, in Equestria."

Sonic's phone rang. He put it on speaker.

"Hello?"

"Sonic? What's happening? Where are you?"

"Settle down, Dashie. I'll be home soon. Tell Spectrum and Scootaloo that I love them."

"Sonic, you're starting to sound like you won't be coming back."

"Dashie, stop worrying. Put Spectrum on the phone."

They crowd waited patiently as they heard the fustling of a phone changing hooves.

"Daddy?" Sonic smiled.

"Hey, sweetheart."

"When will you be home?"

"Soon, Spectrum, I hope. If anything happens to me, I want you to look after Mommy and Scootaloo. You are a protector, after all."

"OK, Dad. I love you." Sonic's voice broke with his heart.

"I love you too, Spectrum. Could you put Rainbow back on?"

The phone changed hooves again.

"Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't leave us just yet. Scootaloo just joined the family. If you die, I'd never be able to live with the loss. None of us would. Especially Spectrum. She thinks the world of you. She's only 5. If you go, she'll grow up without a father, and you would miss her life, graduating, marriage and having her own children one day. Just promise me one thing. That you'll come back."

"Of course. I'll be home soon."

Sonic turned off his phone, and readjusted himself so that he was facing the camera.

"My fellow Mobians, I am here to tell you that I will not be disheartened by this beast who calls himself The Sidekick. I will never surrender. If I die, I'll be taking him with me. He thinks that he has defeated me, but the battle hasn't even started yet."

A new voice entered the ears of the audiences. "Aw, how sweet! What a motivating speech you can give, Prince. It's such a shame that you might be unprepared for our upcoming battle." All the heads had turned to see The Sidekick standing on the statue's head. Sonic snarled. "Well, well, if it isn't The Sidekick, the one who murdered my mother, murdered my brother, murdered my friends, and injured my sister, injured my friends. We meet at last. It's such a shame that our first meeting will be your last."

"Now, now, let's not be hasty. First things first, I think I might go and visit your family in Equestria."

"If you go near them, you're dead."

"Pity you've been apprehended by your own people. There's nothing you can do to stop me. Toodles!" With that, The Sidekick took off, using jets on the bottom of his shoes, and flew up to a ship which had been cloaked, and he blasted off towards Equestria. "Noooo!" Sonic started to transform again, as Rainbow turned off the TV. She had to get help.

Ultra Werehog Sonic had broken free of his captors grip and was blasting full speed towards Equestria. He had to get there before The Sidekick. He saw the ship in the sky, almost a mile ahead, so he increased his speed. As they were nearing the Mobiquestria border, the ship was only half a mile ahead. Going past Cloudsdale, he was only one-quarter mile ahead. The hedgehog and The Sidekick were neck-in-neck as they zoomed towards Ponyville. The Sidekick never noticed, but Sonic noticed. He looked up to see the ship directly above him, and he also spotted a way to slow his opponent down. All of The Sidekick's ship's engines were underneath. Sonic took out his guitar and aimed for one of the bigger engines. He played a long riff, resulting in a barrage of laser fire pummelling the engine, which broke off completely. The ship started veering to the right, plummeting uncontrollably towards Golden Oaks Library. Sonic wasn't about to let Twilight get killed. "Chaos Control!" Time froze around him. He blasted off at full speed towards the library, which was about to be destroyed by the tumbling ship. He reached the library, but instead of going in to get Twilight out, he ran up the side and jumped straight up. He reached the frozen ship and shoved it backwards, all the way out to almost the outer layer of the atmosphere, powered by Sonic's speed. He stopped pushing it up and started pushing it across the continents. Eventually, he was over the largest volcano on the planet. Sonic launched the ship downwards by giving it another almighty shove, towards the crater. Time resumed at normal speed and the ship fell plummeting towards the volcano's waiting mouth. The Sidekick was terrified, but he was smart enough to eject. The ship carried on towards the opening as The Sidekick floated down slowly on a parachute. The air was suddenly knocked out of his lungs by the flying werehog. He was launched sideways so fast, he would've sworn he heard his bones creak with the force. Soon, Sonic slowed down and grabbed The Sidekick. But, Sonic didn't know what The Sidekick had hidden up his sleeve. Sonic growled. "End of the line, buddy." The Sidekick drew out his weapon: a small Robotnik-era laser gun, but it had been heavily modified. "Like it? I just had it customised yesterday, especially for you." He pressed the barrel against Sonic's forehead, and got ready to pull the trigger. Sonic glanced downwards and saw something approaching. He smiled: reinforcements. The Sidekick was still talking. "Any last words?"

"Yes, actually. Three questions. One: who exactly are you, beneath the mask? Two: what did I ever do to you? And three: have you ever been on the receiving end of a unicorn's magic?"

"To answer your first two questions, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet. I'm the one you always turned to. The one who built you the plane, the gadgets. The one who you called your little bro. I was your best man. And, how many times did I hear a thank you? Nil. Zilch. Nada. None. Not once did I get something in return from you. You always looked down on me like a baby. Well, I've had it! I snapped after I built you the lift. Four hours of work, and nothing in return. I'm just showing you what it feels like, to have all your hard work, ignored, wiped out."

"Tails?!"

"I don't want to hear it, rodent. Say hi to your mother and Manic for me.

"But, you still haven't answered my last question."

"Well my answer to that question is a no. And I must say that it was a very random question."

"Well, you might need to change that answer." Sonic pushed himself away from Tails, just as the six most important ponies in Equestria broke through the cloud bank: Princess Twilight, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, Rainbow Dash and Spectrum. They all had their horns glowing, charging up to fire. Sonic shouted, "Don't use an assault spell. He's Tails! Use a containment spell, instead!" The glows instantly diminished to nothing and were replaced by dimmer glows. Tails was almost instantly immobilized by the combined spells of the six alicorns. Twilight closed in slowly on the two-tailed kitsune, and sent out a second containment spell to relinquish him of his weapon. Sonic frowned at his former friend. "I hate to do this to you, Tails, but I can't let you go. You killed my mother and my brother. You sent Sally, Sonia and – Wait, if you're Tails, then who was in the hospital? The three injured parties were Sally, Sonia and Tails." Then it hit Sonic like an anvil. "You're not from this dimension, are you? You're a different Tails, from a different zone. You are not Tails Prime."

"So you finally figured it out. I must say, you may fast on your feet, but you're way too slow when it comes to the brainwork. My zone's Sonic could've figured it out faster than you!" Twilight came over to Sonic. "I could try sending him back. I know a few multi-dimensional spells."

"There really is no need, Princess, I've got it!" The six ponies, the kitsune and the werehog all turned to see Zonic, the zone cop, standing sideways in a portal. He was from the No Zone, a dimension perpendicular to the others, cutting through them like a knife through hot butter. He sent a laser net over to Tails2 and pulled him into the orange portal, closing up behind them. Rainbow was confused, as well as the others. "Who was that?"

"Me. His name is Zonic. He is a zone cop from the No Zone. He makes sure Mobians, ponies and everyone else on the planet are in the dimension they're supposed to be. I've been to many zones, but he sent me there. I'm the one true Sonic, in the same way that you are all the only true versions of yourselves. We are from the Prime Zone. Mobius Prime, Equestria Prime and so on. He controls it all." The six alicorns were silent as this information sunk in. Sonic decided to power down all of his forms except Super. The black werehog was slowly replaced with the golden hedgehog, and the seven Primes slowly started their descent back down to the planet.

As soon as Super Sonic landed in Mobius, he was surrounded by citizens, news crews and friends. He saw his Uncle Chuck near the front, along with others from the Knothole Freedom Fighters, like Bunnie Rabbot and Antoine. He even saw Sonia. The news crews, however, were the first people he spoke to. "Sonic, can you tell us what happened? Did the villian escape or was he defeated?"

"Technically, he was both. It was revealed to be an alternate version of Tails the Fox, from a different dimension. I hunted him across Mobius and into Equestria, where he almost crash landed. I transported him up to the atmosphere using Chaos Control, where I discovered his true identity. The six ponies you see before you came to my assistance, when he was pointing a gun at my head. He was then transported to his zone of origin by Zonic, the zone cop. But, if I know Zonic's track record, which I do, I can safely tell you that The Sidekick will never be bothering us again." The crowd went into uproar. "Do you have any more questions?"

"No, Your Highness. The only thing we can say to you now is, from the entire MNN crew and for the rest of Mobius, thank you for being so loyal to your subjects." She turned to the camera, and was about to say her closing line, but Sonic beat her to it. "Back to you in the studio!" The link was shut off, and the cameras were put away for transport. The reporter scowled at Sonic. He just smiled innocently, and laughed. "Sorry, it's a force of habit!" Eventually, the reporter laughed, as well. Sonic walked over to his family and friends, who all rushed forward to give him a hug. His moustachioed, de-robotisized Uncle Chuck was the first to speak. "Well done, Sonny boy! You always were a fighter!" He chuckled heartily as Bunnie and Antoine approached the prince. "Way ta go, sugah-hog!"

"Oui, Sonique, zat waz a job well doon."

"Job well done, Ant, not well doon!"

"Zat is what I was saying!" Finally, it was Sonia's turn to speak to her brother. "Congratulations, Sonic. Thanks for comforting me in the hospital."

"Any time sis. Speaking of, any updates on Tails' and Sally's conditions?"

"Sally woke up from her coma just before you arrived back, but Tails might be a bit… longer?"

"How much longer?"

"No-one knows. He may not be waking up at all." Sonic was running towards the hospital before she was finished. He was not about to let Tails die as well. "Hold on Tails. I'm coming." He had arrived at the hospital within seconds. He rocketed up to Sally's and Tails' room, ignoring the pleas from the staff, telling him to "stop running in the halls". He opened the door with his shoulder. He smiled as he saw Sally, propped up on her pillow, reading. "Hey."

"Sonic! I'm so glad you came."

"When I heard you were out of your coma, I had to come and see you." He glanced solemnly over at his other friend. "And to see if Tails is OK."

"The doctors have no idea! They don't think he's going to die, though. They say he's either already dead or that he's in a permanent state of comatosis."

"They've clearly never met my wife." As if on cue, his phone buzzed with a message from Rainbow. It read: I'm on my way 2 hospital. Was jst talking with Sonia. She told me evrything. C u in 5! 3 u. He smiled. "Rainbow's on her way. She'll be able to help." Sally relaxed, knowing that Tails would be fine. She hoped.

Rainbow arrrived at the hospital through their window. Sonic rolled his eyes playfully. Of course Dashie had to make an entrance. She got it from Daring Do, a character from a novel series she had forced him to read. Dashie punched him gently on the shoulder. She trotted over to Tails' bed, as her horn started to glow magenta. She barely touched Tails' forehead with her horn. His limp body started to glow with her horn as the magic coursed through his veins. The spell became so intense that Sonic and Sally had to hide beneath her bed. Soon, it was finished, and the two Mobians emerged. Rainbow was drained of energy, so Sonic ran to get her a coffee. Tails was still sleeping, so they had no way to prove that the spell had worked. That is, of course, until he awoke. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing much. We just defeated your doppelganger and saved Mobius and Equestria. No biggie!"

"Oh, so just another day in the office then? Ha!"

Later that day, doctors checked Tails out of the hospital, so Sonic decided to take Tails and all of his friends, Mobian or otherwise, down to a place which belonged to each nation. He called all of his friends and surviving family members and told them to meet at the tip of the Mobiquestrian Peninsula. This was a long finger of land which pointed out towards the foreign lands. The Mobiquestrian border cut through the finger like a knife, right through the middle. In the early years of Mobius and Equestria, there had been a war between the ponies and the Mobians about who claimed the right to include this place of natural beauty in their country. It went on for almost a century, becoming affectionatley known as 'the war that ravaged the nations'. Eventually, the leaders of the two countries, the six pony sisters (former Harmony bearers) of Equestria and Aman Rappii, the ancient emperor of Mobius, and Sonic's ancestor, came to a truce and agreed to split the Peninsula evenly between the two lands. And now, the two sides of the Peninsula are meeting again, but this time for a less serious affair: a picnic. All of Sonic's friends were there, as were all of Rainbow's. The Wonderbolts even decided to show up, along with Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Shining Armour and Spike. Of course, the Mane 6 and Spectrum were there, accompanied by Ditzy Doo, a.k.a Derpy Hooves, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They were mingling with the Mobians: Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Amy, Sally, Sonia, Cream, Cosmo, Rouge, Bunnie, Antoine, Uncle Chuck, and a new person none of the ponies had met before, because he wasn't a Mobian.

His name was Christopher Thorndyke. He was a twelve year old boy from another dimension. He came from a city called Station Square. He met Sonic and the others when they got transported there after one of Dr. Eggman's experiments involving Chaos Control went haywire, sending them all through space. Eventually, they got sent home through a portal made by Chris' inventor grandfather, who coincedentally shared his name with Sonic's uncle. For six years, Chris tried to rebuild his grandfather's machine so he could transport himself to Mobius so he could see Sonic and his friends again. His machine was a great success, except for one thing. It didn't teleport him as a dashing eighteen year old teenager, but it turned him back into his twelve year old self. What had been six years for him, had only been six hours for Mobius and the rest of the world. He joined them on another adventure through space when an destructive race known as the Metarex stole the planet's Planet Egg, it's life force. They met Cosmo that day. They chased the Metarex through the universe, until their final confrontation at galactic coordinates (0,0,0). The heroes were almost destroyed by the Metarex, until Cosmo took her final form: a large sakura tree with delicate pink leaves. She immobilized the last Metarex, the leader called Dark Oak, and told Tails to fire the Sonic Power Cannon at Dark Oak. And herself. The weapon was specially designed to fire Sonic as a bullet, after being charged by his Spin Dash technique. This time, it was more powerful, because he was being shot in Super form, as was Shadow. Tails fired the weapon, after much reluctance, and Super Sonic and Super Shadow blasted towards his enemy and his crush, going for the kill. The two hedgehogs made contact with a massive explosion of golden light. Everyone thought that Cosmo was dead, so they mourned her greatly. When Sonic returned, he beared her gift to Tails: a sole seed. They returned to Mobius and, later that day, Chris returned home. But he wasn't happy back there, so he continued his experiments, but on a larger scale, back as an eighteen year old. He eventually succeeded in transporting all of his family, Chuck Thorndyke, his father Chris Thorndyke Sr, and his mother Lindsey Faire, and friends, Danny, Francis and Helen, to Mobius as well and they have lived happily there ever since, in harmony with the Mobians of Mobotropolis. After he told his story to the ponies, they were thoroughly impressed. "You must be very smart," said Twilight, "if you were able to master interdimensional travel at 18!"

"Oh, he's smart alright, Twi. He's just like his grandpa!" Chris smiled. "Onto other matters, how is it going between you and Helen, Chris?" His cheeks glowed red, almost the same shade as Applejack's cutie mark. "N-N-No… S-Sonic. Helen a-and I are j-just… friends."

"Uh-huh… Do you really think that we were born yesterday? I've seen the way you look at her. You stare at her like Tails stares at Cosmo!" Tails and Cosmo matched Chris's face's shade of red almost immediately. "Sonic. ix-Nay on-way e-thay ating-day!"

"ese-Thay are-way y-may amily-fay and-way iends-fray. ey-Thay eserve-day o-tay ow-knay!" Sonic returned to normal speech. "Yeah, Tails, you and Cosmo have been going out for what, six, seven months now?"

Tails sighed in defeat. "Eight months actually."

Sonic whispered in the kitsune's ear. "Have ya popped the question yet?"

"No, but I am planning to before we go today. Don't spoil the surprise!"

"My lips are sealed." He turned back to Chris. "Will you just hurry up and ask Helen out already? Looking at you when you're in the same room as her is so pitiful, it's painful! Man up!"

"You're right, Sonic. If I don't then I'll never know how she feels. I'll ask her when I get home."

"Hold that thought." Sonic accelerated off back towards Mobius. He came back about two seconds later, holding a box. "Give this to her when you do. I talked to Twilight a while back, and she enchanted a large selection of expensive gems with a spell which can heal people with any injury or disability. Including if they are wheelchair-bound. It's a Royal Sapphire. I have more than enough back at the castle. Don't open it though. The spell is programmed to heal the person who first opens the box."

"Gotcha, Sonic." The picnic carried on until sunset. Cosmo sighed blissfully. "Today has been so nice. Thank you, Sonic, for inviting me." Tails saw his chance. "The day isn't over yet, Cosmo." He stepped in front of her, and got down on one knee. "Cosmo the Seedrian, will you marry me?" Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the couple. Tails reached into his namesakes and pulled out a small blue velvet box. He opened it and inside there was a small diamond ring. Small but valuable. Sonic recognised it. "I saw that ring when I was looking for the engagement ring I used when I proposed to Rainbow. That has to be worth at least 100,000 Blue Gems!"

"You use Gems as currency?"

"Not the kind of gems you're thinking of, Rarity. They are tiny hexagonal charms, in seven different colours. Red would be the Mobian equivalent of 2 Bits. Orange is 4 Bits. Yellow is 6 Bits. Green is 8 Bits. Blue is 10 Bits. Purple is 100 Bits. White is 1000 Bits."

"So, that ring would be worth 1,000,000 Bits?!"

"Correct." Everyone became silent again as they waited in anticipation of Cosmo's answer. Tears were welling up in her eyes. Tears of joy. "Oh, Tails, of course I will!" Their friends all clapped and cheered as the newly engaged couple shared a kiss under the sunset.

Soon, all the friends parted ways, heading home to their families and friends. Tails and Cosmo walked with Sonic and Rainbow, to prepare themselves for married life by asking the only couple who were married already. They got lots of advice from the speedsters, like putting in your fair share of work and listening to one another, so they thanked them and went on their way, but it was only seconds before Tails flew back to them. "Hey, Sonic, Rainbow, would it be too much trouble to ask you if you could organise my bachelor party and Cosmo's bachelorette party?"

"No trouble at all, Tails. Leave it to us."

"Thanks. You two are the best." Finally, once again, Tails was gone, flying after his soon-to-be wife. Sonic laughed. "I remember my bachelor party. Knuckles managed to get his fist stuck in the vending machine!"

"I remember Shinig Armour's wedding. Spike was in charge of the bachelor party! I think Shining Armour came out screaming, telling everypony never to let Spike organise another one!"

"Thanks for the warning!"

The two speedsters walked back to their cloud home, laughing. Sonic then received a text from Chris: Sonic, u r the best! I popped the question 2 Helen and she said yes! And, when I put the ring on her finger, she was so happy. She can finally walk after an entire life in a wheelchair! Once again, thank u Sonic. I O U 1! Sonic showed it to Rainbow and they both smiled happily. They both joked about becoming relationship advisors as they entered the house. They tucked Spectrum and Scootaloo into their beds before they settled down to watch a DVD. It had been made four years ago by Tails and Twilight, as a kind of fake documentary about the two blue speedsters: "Loyal Speed". It featured all of their friends and themselves, even Spectrum and The CMC. It retold the story of the speed demons from the moment they were born, right up to when Spectrum arrived into the world. When they first watched it, they were surprised at how accurate it was. It went on sale worldwide and became such a success that they had to buy a warehouse in Robotropolis to store all the money and fanmail! So, they knew that as they sat down to watch their movie, thousands of others around the world were doing the

same. They watched the movie until it was over. They laughed at some points, cried at others, but they both agreed that it was a very good movie about them. They switched off the TV and headed up to their bed and slept for the rest of the night.

Sonic awoke early the next morning to head for his morning jog. Celestia's sun had barely breached the horizon. He left Rainbow a note telling her where he was, and headed out. He decided to take a different route to his usual one. Since moving to Equestria, he normally did one lap of the border, like he did in Mobius, but today he decided to take a longer route around both those countries, because he needed time to think of ideas for Tails' bachelor party. He treated Tails as if he were his little brother, so he knew everything he liked: machines, travelling, flying, etc. But, one of Tails' favourite hobbies of all times was being a DJ. Actually, he also knew that all of their other friends enjoyed that as well. And, thanks to Dashie, he knew one of the worlds greatest DJs. He met her at his wedding because she performed there: Vinyl scratch, aka DJ Pon-3. So he gave her a phone call.

*Ring Ring*

"Yo, you got Vinyl."

"Hey, Scratch."

"Sonic! How've ya been?"

"Good. And you?"

"I've been epic. I got to perform at Celestia's birthday celebrations! Who knew she liked dubstep?"

"Well, the gig I'm calling about won't be as impressive as that. My friend's getting married soon and he's asked me to arrange his bachelor party. He loves DJ-ing, and he is quite good, but he's still an amateur, and I was hoping that you could teach him some things? You're like the master of all DJs!"

"I'd be honoured. When is it?"

"I don't know yet. I'll call you when I have a date."

"As long as it's not today or on the 17th or 18th of October, as those are my next big gigs."

"That can be arranged. Thanks!"

"Any time!"

*Call Ended*

Now he had to arrange everything else: food, transport, location, etc. This was going to be a long day.

Rainbow woke up almost an hour later than Sonic and she went downstairs to make herself some hayfries for breakfast. She saw Sonic's note. It read: Dear Dashie, I'm out for an early morning run around Mobius and Equestria. I need to think about Tails' bachelor party. I shouldn't be too long, so I'll be home soon to help you with Cosmo's bachelorette party. Love Sonikku.

Rainbow hadn't thought about Cosmo's party. This was a rather large problem, because she didn't actually know anything about what Cosmo likes. This meant she would need somebody who knew what Cosmo liked. She didn't want to ask Cosmo or Tails because then they would know, so Sonic stepped in. He said that he'd spent almost a year out in space with her and his friends on there challenge to save the planet and he knew what she enjoyed. Not as mush as Tails, but enough.

After she had finished her breakfast, she went upstairs and woke her two daughters. She started with Spectrum. She went into her biological daughter's room and gently shook her awake. Spectrum reacted with her usual grogginess, but was fully awake after only a few minutes. Then, Rainbow Dash repaeated the same procedure for her adopted daughter, Scootaloo, only Scoot responded with a bit more enthusiasm than her sister. She was excited because of the crusading the CMC had planned for today: racing. She knew she was the fastest of the CMC, maybe excluding Spectrum. The only thing which disappointed her was that they had signed up for a racing tournament which didn't allow vehicles, so she couldn't use her beloved scooter. But she could feel it in her wings that someone was getting their Cutie Mark today. Then, he received a text from Apple Bloom: Hay, Spectrum. Sry, but I won't b able 2 make it 2day. AJ says I have 2 help her the stall. May-b 2moro. Spectrum texted her friend back: OK, c u 2moro! She went to find her sister to tell her the news and Spectrum suggested that they go and surprise her and buy some of her apples. Scoot thought that this was a brilliant idea, even though it was putting the crusading a day behind. They went round to Rarity's "Carousel Boutique" to invite Sweetie Belle, but when Rarity opened the door, she apologised to the young fillies. "I'm sorry, girls, but Sweetie Belle can't come out today. You see, darlings, I am planning to take Sweetie to Canterlot for the day. A friend of mine is a famous DJ who has a gig down there today. Vinyl Scratch." Scootaloo wasn't sure who that was.

"Who's Vinyl Scratch?"

"You'd know her as DJ Pon-3."

"Seriously? She's like my favourite musician ever."

"I' m planning to surprise Sweetie. I'm going to try and pull a few strings with Vinyl and see if I can get Sweetie on stage to sing. I'll get Vinyl to sign some autographs for you. Sweetie'll definitely be free tomorrow, though. Shall I tell her you called?"

"Yes please."

"I'll send her out to find you if we're home early."

"Thanks, Rarity. And Mom says hello."

"Thank you, girls. Tell her the same from me!"

With that, the two remaining crusaders went to the Ponyville market square to hunt out the Sweet Apple Acres stand. Eventually, they found it with Applejack and Apple Bloom standing cheerfully behind it. "Spectrum! Scootaloo! How nice to see you! Ya here to but some apples, sugarcubes?"

"We sure are, Applejack!"

"That's good. So how many would you like? One for each of you?"

"No. Make it two for each of us and one each for Mom and Dad. They give their regards, by the way."

"Right back at 'em!" Applejack said with a smile. "That'll be six apples, so that's 12 bits. Minus one as a friends discount."

"You don't need to do that. We'll pay full price." Scootaloo said as she handed 12 bits over the counter. Applejack laughed. "I know you aren't related to her, but that is exactly what Rarity would have done. She is the Element of Generousity, after all." She finished right before her mobile started ringing. "Hold on, sugarcubes. Hello?...Big Mac? What are you doing callin' me at this time o' day?….What? How'd she manage that?...I'll be right there." She hung up with a sigh. "Sorry girls. It seems that Granny Smith has accidentally mistaken some explosives for firewood and blown a hole in the side of the farmhouse. Big Mac's asked me to come back and try to get some form of temporary cover until it's been rebuilt. Apple Bloom, I'd like you to stay here and hold up the fort. That shouldn't be too much trouble, should it?"

"Naw, sis. Ah'll be fine." With that, Applejack ran off towards the farm, leaving the three crusaders at the apple stand. Applebloom gave them their six apples and smiled as Scootaloo put them in her saddle bag. She waved them off as they headed towards the park for a walk. They laughed as they told stories about life before the adoption. Soon, they each took out one of their apples and lay down on a bench. Being Pegasi, they both loved they complex simplicity of the sky, so they looked up to admire it. Weather patrol officers moved the clouds around the sky, birds flew in the breeze and the last wisps of smoke floated carelessly upwards from the smoldering hole in the farm. When they finished their apples, they decided to head back into town. They bumped into a running Applejack, in a hurry to get back to the stand to help Applebloom again, so the girls decided to accompany her. When they got to the stand, however, they were overwhelmed with shock. When they left Applebloom, every basket was brimming. But after the brief time they had been gone, the baskets were all empty and Applebloom stood proudly beside a sack of Bits almost as big as her! The surprise of Applejack, Spectrum and Scootaloo increased when she stepped away from the bag to greet them. "Applebloom," shouted Scootaloo, "you've got your Cutie Mark!"

"What?!" Clearly Applebloom hadn't realised. "What's it look like? What's it look like?!" Her Cutie Mark was a group of three apples on top of a pyramid of coins. Applejack handed her little sister a mirror so she could see it for herself. She nearly knocked Applejack over as she jumped for joy. "Mah Cutie Mark! Mah Cutie Mark! Ah can't wait to show Sweetie Belle." With that, she galloped off towards the Carousel Boutique, with the other Crusaders close behind. She almost broke the door if the dressmaker's house, if she wasn't stopped by the others. "Sweetie Belle! Come quick! Ah got mah Cutie Mark!" As soon as she heard the word "Cutie", Sweetie was halfway down the stairs. "Really?! So did I!" This was certainly news to the girls. "What? When?"

"Earlier on today, when I was up on stage. I sang along with the DJ. Everypony loved me. It made me feel so…warm inside, like this is what I was meant to do. When I got off stage, Rarity diverted my gaze to my flank and I saw this." Sweetie's Cutie Mark featured jewels, like her sister, only they were nothing like the mitsubishi* on Rarity's.

Hers were on a diamond-encrusted microphone. Scootaloo gasped. "Wow, Sweetie. It's awesome!"

"Thanks! Now, Applebloom, show me yours!" Applebloom showed her no longer blank flank to Sweetie Belle, who smiled. "Just think, Scoots, now it's only you left to get yours then we won't need to go crusading anymore." It hit them like a brick. "Yeah," Scootaloo said mournfully, "no more crusading, which means no more Crusaders. I hope we'll still be friends afterwards." Sweetie and Applebloom looked hurt. "Scootaloo, of course we will! Just cause we'd all have our Cutie Marks doesn't mean we can't stop being friends."

"Right." Scootaloo still wasn't certain. The fact that she had no Cutie Mark was only one of her imperfections: she was an orphan, she couldn't fly as well as her peers, she was easily scared, she rarely showed her true feelings and she could get moody and obsessive. She felt that as they grew older they'd start making new friends and move away from her. She was scared. She thought it would be like the orphanage and she'd be alone again. She hid this from her friends and laughed with them as they showed off their Cutie Marks. Eventually, Spectrum and Scootaloo left the Carousel Boutique and flew back home. When they opened the door, Sonic and Rainbow were sitting in the living room.

Sonic had finished working on Tails' bachelor party, including food, transport and location. He had gone for a techno theme and he had called Vinyl back to organise the track list. The only thing he needed to do now was talk to Tails to decide on a date. But, before that, he'd agreed to help Rainbow organise Cosmo's bachelorette party. They were nearing completion when the girls walked in. Rainbow looked up and smiled at them. "Hey, girls, how was your day?"

"Great! Applebloom and Sweetie Belle got their Cutie Marks!" Spectrum was practically screaming in joy. Scootaloo grimaced as Spectrum continued. "Now, only

Scootaloo needs to get hers. And then all the CMC will have them. Scootaloo had a thought. "What about the Manehatten branch?"

"I didn't even know we had a Manehatten branch."

"It was founded by Applebloom's cousin, Babs Seed. She's a blank flank too. The

Last time she contacted us, just over a week ago, she told us that their branch had five members, two of which had received their Cutie Marks about a month ago."

"Well, shouldn't we go to Manehatten, then? I'd like to meet her."

"Yeah! We could make it a CMC day trip!" Rainbow Dash decided to step in. "Girls, you'd better not be planning a trip to Manehatten on your own. It isn't exactly the nicest place in Equestria. I visited it once, never went back. Scootaloo, you should remember The Great and Powerful Trixie. She's from Manehatten. So if you are planning to go to Manehatten, I would prefer it if you asked someone older to accompany you."

"What about you, Mom?"

"Oh no, you wouldn't get me back there even if you paid me. The last time I tangled with Trixie, I was flapping around uncontrollably with one giant wing!"

"What about Dad?"

"Sonic grew up during the reign of Dr. Robotnik, all robots, ugly metal buildings and pollution. He knows his way around cities. Let's see, there was Mobotropolis, Robotropolis, Soleanna, Station Square etc. Go and see what he says."

"Thanks, Mom!" With that, the two girls took off in search of their dad. They had no idea how hard he was going to be to find.

Sonic had returned to Mobius, to the Hedgehog Kingdom, to a cemetary. He was looking for four graves, all in a row beside each other. Eventually, he found them. These four graves were those of his friends and family who had died during the Sidekick incident: Queen Aleena, Manic the Hedgehog, Princess Elise and Rotor the Walrus. He was thinking. Would they still be alive if he had been faster? If he hadn't married Rainbow? If he didn't exist, would they still be here? He wished he knew. He turned to look at the Queen's grave, and the one beside it, which belonged to the only family that he barely knew: his father. He only knew two things about his father: that he was a hedgehog and that Sonic inherited his speed. Other than that, he knew nothing, not even his name. It was never on the tombstone. He was named as King Hedgehog. Every time he had asked his mother or Uncle Chuck, they would always refer to him as "your father", "the King", "my brother/husband", but never as his name. He felt tears welling up in his eyes and turned away, inadvertently turning towards the one grave of the person who didn't deserve one: Eggman. After 6 years, the tyrant's headstone had been reduced to a mere pile of rubble. But Sonic, even though they were mortal enemies when Eggman was alive, he still felt sorry for the man, and he respected him greatly. Not many people had an iQ of 300. No other people, in fact. Dr. Eggman was a genius and, even though he used his brilliant mind for evil, he should be remembered and respected as one.

Sonic often wondered what life would be like if Eggman had never been evil, how different life would have been. He had seen a few different variations of Dr. Eggman when he went zone-hopping, like Dr Kintobor in the alternate universe, where Sonic and the Freedom Fighters fought against freedom and where Kintobor was a kindly vet, and Doctor J. Kintobor, ruler of a city called Kintopolis, again in an alternate dimension, where all of the residents of Knothole Island had been mutated into evil giants by Chaos radiation, including Sonic's father, who Sonic sadly had to fight and kill to save the world. But he wondered what life would have been like if Eggman and himself were good guys. Life would have been so different. Advancements in helpful technology, rather than robots and weapons, and no people being forced to work by being robotocized. No pollution ad no problems, but without the real Eggman, the Freedom Fighters wouldn't have any purpose. Without villians, what are heroes going to do? They didn't know it, but the Freedom Fighters needed Eggman, as much as he didn't need them. Nobody understood this, apart from Sonic.

He was distracted from his thoughts by a voice calling him from a distance: a young voice. He looked around to see who it was, and he spotted an orange spec in the distance, running towards him: Tails. But then Sonic realised that Tails wasn't alone, as a smaller cream-coloured figure came into view as well.

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